Happy feet?
by StarSource
Summary: Instead of staying and trying to win Gloria's love at the mating ceremony, Mumble runs away feeling hurt and unwanted. Mumble then decides to take life by the horns and live his life despite how many penguins prefer his lack of existence. A re-write of the first and second film and maybe beyond!
1. The Ceremony

**Hey guys, this is my first Happy Feet Fanfic and I hope you guys enjoy. The first chapter will be kind of short, since it is meant for the readers to get into rhythm of the story. This will be another version of both movies, where I show how things should have gone down, but it is still my first fanfiction, so haters please go easy on me. The story starts around Gloria's mate ceremony. I do not own Happy Feet.  
**

**Happy Feet?**

Amongst the icy waters of the Antarctic and white powdery snow, four small penguins and a rather tall and fluffy penguin could be made out in the deep white. In the crystal like and glistening ice, Mumble was walking, lost in the whiteness that lay before him; his blue eyes fixed upon one point as if trying to focus one the sound of his footsteps. As always he was thinking about Gloria. His thoughts went all the way back to the first day he saw her, which was literally the first person he saw when he was born. From his birth Mumble knew he found his love, but he was not quite sure how she felt about him. Even though they have always been close friends, she was the most wanted female in a colony full penguins who could actually sing, unlike him. This thought troubled him quite a bit, so he started tapping his feet; focusing on the unique, raspy yet solid thump his feet made when he they hit the blue ice. His thoughts were interrupted, when he heard music in the distance so he instinctively picked up the pace, but the closer he got to the beautiful source of music the faster his heart would break. He had a single thought in his head.

"_Gloria"_

When reached the ceremony, he found himself letting out huge breath in relief as he saw many penguins fail to get Gloria's attention. His breaths became short and desperate and his stomach became tight as he readied himself to face the crowd of penguins but most important of all he got ready to impress Gloria. He saw Gloria walking towards him, still singing with her beautiful voice and moving as if wanting to dance, so Mumble took this chance and made his appearance.

_"Yo sé, se terminó_  
_Nuestro amor_  
_Divino "_

As Mumble approached Gloria, he heard Gloria mention his name and it suddenly felt like it was only the two of them there in the deep blue ice. He quickly realized that it wasn't him singing, it was Ramon and picked his act up.

_"Mis amigos, les declaré_  
_Les diré_  
_Que estoy seguro"_

"Mumble is that really you?" Gloria questioned

"Sure its me! You like?" Mumble answered

"Well I would if it were really you" Gloria answered in a saddened tone. In that moment Mumble know he has been caught, but dragged it out in an expression of self-denial. He really wanted to believe that Gloria had not noticed, but on the inside he knew he would not hold this act.

_"Es un hombre_  
_Sin nada más_  
_Si no un Señor_  
_Con lágrimas"_

"Turn around Mumble"

"Why?"

"Just turn around"

"But, why?"

"Well why not?" Answered Gloria

Mumble had no answer so he just spun her around until she pushed him out of the way. Behind his back was Mumble's best friend singing his heart out in an attempt to help his best friend. Gloria had many emotions running through her at once, among them were disappointment, depression, but relief.

_"Debe decir_  
_(debe decir)_  
_Debe gritar_  
_(debe gritar)_  
_Debe sentir_  
_(debe sentir)_  
_En la verdad_  
_(en la verdad)_

_Luché, gané_  
_Sobresali_  
_Lo hice Myyy Waaaay!"_

"Mumble how could you?" Gloria said bewildered that Mumble would do something so dirty.

"I just didn't know what else to do" Answered with his head down in shame. Gloria turned away from him and started singing or rather tried to sing as for the first time in her life, Gloria found that her voice was failing her as if telling her not to sing.

"No Gloria no" Mumble said desperately and then suddenly an idea popped in his head.

"Gloria dance to this!" Mumble then started tapping a rhythm.

"Mumble you're embarrassing me" Gloria plainly stated, but immediately regretted it when she saw the hurt in those deep blue eyes, which only Mumble possesses.

"Mumble I didn't mean it that wa-"

"Yes you did." Mumble whispered

"I'm sorry for embarrassing you, I don't know what I was thinking when I though someone like me could have someone like you"Mumble's voice crackled as he held back the tears

"I guess this is goodbye, I'm sure you will find a great penguin to take care of you" At this point Gloria was at a loss for words. One thing the two had in common at that moment is that both of their hearts were reaching their limit.

"I know I've never said this before, but Gloria I love you and I'll never forget you"

He then sped away from Gloria.

"No Mumble! Wait I'm Sorry" Gloria tried to run after him, but fell in the process.

Spectators penguins then started to sing to Gloria to again try and seduce her.


	2. The Heartsong

**Okay guys here is chapter 2! But first I would like to thank Anonymous Supporter for taking the time to review my story. This really means a lot to me, so here is a shout out to you Anonymous! Hopefully you will keep on reading :). Without further or do here it is. By the way to get the full effect from this story, I suggest you have actually have watched both of the Happy feets and understand the plot.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 2  
**

"Stop! Stop it right now!" Gloria screamed with fury in her eyes although the fury was not directed at the other penguins, but only at herself. She went to run after him, but was stopped by the elders.

"Gloria you may not go out of the confines of our colony until you finish this traditional ritual" Noah's voice boomed throughout the colony. The Elders supported Noah's decision claiming that Mumble would only bring trouble to the colony and that the ceremony must be continued until she finds her soul-mate. A sad and depressed Gloria continued her ritual and finally after a long day of singing, she did not find any one with a heart song that matched hers. She could still remember the feeling; that feeling of rejoice!. Gloria felt invincible whenever Mumble tapped his feet against the snow. She has always found this attractive, but has not shown it due to the negative judgement that was imposed against the "Pagan act" as Noah described it. Unknown to Gloria, Mumble was actually still very close by resting on a cool slab of ice, while being consoled by the Amigos.

"Fluffy let me tell something to ju, when you really love someone you can't just give up like this. You have to fight and fight hasta el fin." The Amigos agreed with Ramon and little did they know, these words would stick with Mumble for the rest of his life.

As night took over day, Gloria decided to call it a day and rest. She quickly found that she couldn't sleep, but Gloria decided to keep trying. She then woke up breathing heavily and that's when she decided to go for walk or to fish, anything that would get her mind of Mumble. But no matter how many steps she took or how many fish she caught, Mumble was still on her mind. She then found a perfect spot, so she could do what she does best: Singing. Gloria then starts singing her heartsong

_"So slowly…  
So slowly into hearts of those who  
Need more than they get  
Daylight deals a bad hand"_

Gloria tried to keep singing, but found it immensely difficult. She felt empty inside as if something has just abruptly left her life. Just as she was bout to give up, she suddenly heard some tapping and immediately found it easier to sing.

_"To a penguin that has laid too many bets  
The mirror stares you in the face and says  
"Baby, uh-uh, it don't work!"_

"Gloria" murmured the mysterious figure. When Gloria heard his voice, she found an irresistible urge to sing and she proceeded to sing the song of their lives.

As she sang, she heard the source of the tapping get closer and closer to her. And finally after what seemed like eternity their eyes met and and everything became clear. The two lovers were now alone in their own world, in which they could express their feelings for one another without restrictions. And without any further words Mumble and Gloria proceeded to complete their new heart song.

_You say your prayers, though you don't care_  
_You sing and you_  
_Shake the hurt…_  
_DANCE!_

Mumble and Gloria were so distracted in their own love that they failed to notice that they had woken up most of the colony, including the amigos. Indeed they were so immersed in their own love they didn't see the crowd they were drawing. Now with back up singers and and all other kinds of help, their song exploded throughout the cosmos. Everyone that night felt the love that Mumble and Gloria held for each other and now understood these two were meant to be together.

_Boogie wonderland  
Ah, ah, dance!  
Boogie wonderland  
Midnight creeps so slowly into hearts  
of men who need more than they get  
Daylight deals a bad hand  
to a penguin who has laid too many bets_

At this point, the new couple was dancing in such a mesmerizing way, it could be compared to the flicker of a fire. Mumble led and slowly but surely Gloria got the hang of dancing. Before they knew it, the pair was dancing in a totally harmonized way.

_The mirror stares you in the face and says  
"Baby, uh-uh, it don't work!"  
You say your prayers though you don't care  
You dance and shake the hurt  
Dance! (MUMBO!)  
Boogie wonderland  
Dance, dance, dance! (MUMBO!)  
Boogie wonderland_

_Check it out (x3)  
Yo soy Raul, pingïino mas "cool"  
Latino por supuesto 100% espanol [My brothers ¿Que? [My brothers! (Yeah)]  
Luego me llama una senorita me enciende como flama  
La fiesta, baila baila muchachita, mi corazon tiene dinamita  
!PUM? [BOOM!]  
!Exacto, te como en un tacto, dejame ser tu papi pinguino? You look so beautiful to me baby!_

_(MUMBO!)_

_All the love in the world can't be gone (MUMBLE!)  
All the need to be loved can't be wrong (MUMBLE!)  
All the heartsongs are playing  
And my heart keeps saying,  
"Boogie wonderland,  
Wonderland!"_

_Dance! (MUMBLE!)  
Boogie wonderland (MUMBLE!)  
Ah, ah, dance! (MUMBLE!)  
Boogie wonderland (MUMBLE!)_

_Dance, dance, dance…  
Whoaaaaa… MUMBLE!_

As their heart song ended and the last step to their beautiful dance was struck, they turned looked at each other and embraced in a comforting hug.

"Mumble" Gloria murmured as tears of happiness flowed out of her.

"Gloria" Mumble replied as wiped her tears away with his flipper.

At the moment the song ended, the the star-crossed lovers rejoiced in their first kiss under a beautiful moonlight, which shined perfectly off of the calm Antarctic waters. The ice seemed to emit a light of its own as it lit up in a beautiful azure display complementing the aurora above them. The aurora, showing off its ranges and colors, shined every color that it could muster, but emphasized the color blue and pink, which some might say represents love.

"What is this! Someone explain to me what is going on here!" Noah screamed. Nature was disturbed as the water was now moving, showing an imperfect reflection of the moon, and the aurora seemed to disappear. Everything became quiet as Gloria and Mumble, still holding each other, faced Noah and the Elders with new determination.

* * *

**There it is guys! Another chapter done and again please review IT REALLY MEANS A LOT. Thank you!**

**By the way just in case when Ramon says "Fight hasta el fin", that means "Fight till the end"  
**

**I PROMISE A 3K+ CHAPTER NEXT!  
**


	3. The Hero

**Hey guys here is the 3rd chapter to this story. And, again, the review thing was not out of arrogance, but because I really value your opinion. I want to know what I can do to make this story more enjoyable and at the same time I want to polish my writing skills. Happy reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Mumble and Gloria stared at the elder penguin in silence.

"Well explain yourselves!" exclaimed Noah.

"Can't you see it?" Mumble said in a cool voice.

"See what? All I see is bunch of dancing fools!" Noah screamed angrily.

"You mean to tell me that you, the Elder of this nation, could not see how our heart songs united!" Gloria screamed in outrage.

"What heart song could Mumble Happy Feet possibly have? He cannot sing the simplest of tunes in a satisfactory way. Surely Someone with a voice as lovely as yours cannot find anything special in someone like him."

"He helped me finish our song through his tapping and that is our heart song! He might not be able to sing, but he can dance in this... rhythm that just makes you want to sing. Just because he can't sing doesn't mean he doesn't have a heart song!" At this point Gloria was in tears, while defending her mate.

"What gives you the right to say he is no penguin, just because he can't sing" Gloria said in an even toned voice.

"What gives you the right to say he is not special, he is the most special penguin, because he found something new that actually helps singing." Gloria's voice was getting progressively getting louder.

"What gives you the right to treat him as an outcast, his dancing is something fantastic...something that I can't explain, but it's fun!" Gloria's voice could be heard through the whole colony.

"His dancing saved me and..I... I-I would rather dance with him for the rest of my life than sing!"

Mumble was shocked, to say the least, and went up to hug Gloria and nuzzle her beak with his own.

"Thank you"

Mumble was in tears, because now he knew Gloria really loved him. He was, in a word, ecstatic!

"I love you Mumble, Sorry it took me so long"

"I love you too Gloria and it's my fault; I should have said something sooner"

Gloria nuzzled into Mumbles neck in a loving manner.

Everyone else was silent as they watched the scene unfold. The Elders were furious and demanded Mumble's exile, which Noah happily agreed with.

"Mumble Happy Feet from this day forth , you shall not live in this colony. Now Be Gone!" Right after Noah made this decision, the temperature dropped 20 degrees if that's even possible. Mumble was frozen, he had just gotten his life together for once and then bang it all comes crashing down. Gloria was about to say something when..

"Don't take one step out of here sweetheart. You have as much of right to live here as any of these daffy old fools!" Norma Jean's statement was followed by several audible gasps. She looked mad and everyone knows not to mess with a mother and her children.

"Norma Jean I'll handle this" Memphis said.

"Pa?" Mumble's voice was full of hope that his father had finally accepted him.

'Mumble you must renounce your so called dancing. Your weird ways and peculiar thoughts; If we are devout and sincere the fish will return"

"Memphis!" Norma Jean said. She was as shocked as ever. She knew Memphis did not approve of Mumble, but this was something new.

Mumble felt something on the inside snap and went off.

"How could you say that to me! I thought you were my father! Why can't you love me for who I am!I thought we were a family" With tears streaming down his face Mumble felt broken and really needed to be alone right now.

"It's not my fault the fish are gone, the aliens are taking them!"

"There be no such thing foolish child" Noah retorted.

"It's true we saw one of their things" Ramon said to support Mumble.

"This is rubbish" One of the Elders spat

"Leave him alone!. If he is being exiled, then I will go with him" Gloria was determined to stay with her new-found lover.

"You will do no such thing young lady, you will stay here" Maurice, Gloria's father, said.

"Bu-"

"No Gloria"

Gloria then looked to Mumble with pleading eyes asking for help.

"It's okay Gloria. I think its better if you stay here" Mumble said in an evenly toned voice even though he was trying not to cry.

"What are you saying! I thought you loved me!" Gloria cried out.

"I do and I will for the rest of my life, but its not safe to stay with me right now" Mumble replied, holding back tears.

Mumble hugged Gloria as she silently cried on his feathers. The wind was silent, the snow swerving about the couple. The sun shining down on them as they cried. Tears touched the ice and they themselves became ice.

"Please take care Gloria and don't feel guilty if you find someone else" Mumble said while crying.

"Mumble you are the only penguin I will ever be with! I promise" You could hear several hearts in the crowd shatter as those words came out of Gloria's beak.

"Let me tell something to ju, when I find out who took the fish I will return" Those were Mumble's final words as he sped away from the colony.

Gloria looked on as Mumble sped away. She felt empty again and just wanted to cry all day and night. Suddenly she felt flippers on her shoulders. She turned around and was surprised to Norma Jean.

"It's okay honey, we will wait for him and I am sure he will come back" Norma Jean was also heartbroken to see her boy go off to who knows where.

Far away from the colony, Mumble was thinking of what to do next. He knew he needed to find these beings and he had to do it fast.

"Mumble why don't we go see Lovelace again, he can answer anything" Raoul suggested

"That's a great idea! Come on let's go" Mumble replied

Mumble reached Lovelace and had convinced him to lead them to where he found the piece of plastic currently inhibiting him from breathing. They journeyed far into perilous territory. Finally they arrived at the location known as the "Forbidden Shore."

"Is this it?" Mumble asked. Lovelace nodded and then fell on his back.

Lovelace was running out of air quickly and they knew it. Mumble and the Amigos had to think fast and all of a sudden something shiny presented itself to them. It was a piece of glass. Mumble grabbed the piece of glass with his beak and felt it's sharpness.

"Hey guys this thing is sharp, so let's try and cut that with this" Mumble said excitedly

Mumble then proceeded to cut the plastic choking Lovelace.

"Thank you my brother, for you have saved my life" Lovelace said. He also apologized for being so rude during their first encounter.

All of a sudden they noticed some lights moving around them and then felt rumble in the ice. They all instinctively looked up and saw this massive piece of machinery tearing through the ice like it was nothing but water. They all ran out of the way. Mumble had finally gotten his first look at the aliens, who are taking the fish. He raced after it, but found himself on a very high and precarious cliff.

"Amigo this the end of the road" Ramon said.

"Yes indeed" Lovelace agreed

"After all you did everything penguinly possible" Raoul reasoned

Mumble looked at the sea with determined eyes.

"Guys can you take care of my ma and pa and make sure Gloria is okay?" Mumble said

"Wait Amigo, you can't do this, this too dangerous" Ramon said

"Ramon you were the one that said that if you love something or someone you have to fight"

"So goodbye!" Mumble said as he sprinted and jumped off the cliff.

Mumble then positioned himself so that he would be facing Ramon as he was falling and screamed

"Fight hasta el fin"

Then he repositioned himself to get ready to enter the water. When Mumble hit the water, it felt inviting as if he was wanted there. This was one of the many things he has searched all his life for. With the Amigos and Lovelace cheering him on, Mumble swam as fast as he could. He went places no other penguin has even thought about and before he knew it he was being stared at by big featherless penguins, just as the skua described them.

Back in the colony, Gloria was not fairing so well and neither was Norma Jean; for that matter neither was the entire colony as their fish supply was running short. Gloria had not gotten any sleep and when asked to sing she blatantly refused claiming her reason for singing had left her. Something similar had happened to Mumble's father, Memphis. He felt so guilty that he is now spending his days in an icy cave thinking about what he did. Norma Jean usually spent time with Gloria, telling her about Mumble's younger days. Gloria still remembered the first day they had met.

_Flashback:_

_Gloria had just hatched and immediately felt the cold Antarctic wind on her back. She immediately went in between Maurice's legs for warmth. Maurice had spotted Memphis staring down at an egg and decided to go help him. Gloria, not knowing what en egg was, jumped out of her father's legs and immediately went to check what it was, while Maurice and Memphis had a conversation.  
_

_"Can I keep it?" She asked innocently.  
_

_"Gloria!" Maurice said sternly.  
_

_"It's okay Maurice" Memphis said in a dejected tone.  
_

_Gloria tapped on it with her beak and something inside seemed to respond. She tapped on it again and something tapped back. She then proceeded to tap it again, but accidentally broke the egg and before she knew it her eyes met blue eyes. Gloria seemed to get lost in those blue eyes as she kept staring at them.  
_

_"Um.. excuse me could you please move?, I kind of want to get out of here."  
_

_"Oh sorry" Gloria said with a red face.  
_

_"It's okay and by the way you got pretty eyes"  
_

_This caused Gloria to blush some more. While this was happening Memphis was practically jumping for joy, because he found out that his son was alive. The small penguin then proceeded to peck his shell and break it.  
_

_"Hi nice to meet you Mumble, I am Gloria"  
_

_"Mumble? Is that my name?" The small penguin questioned  
_

_"Well not really, but its something that came to mind" Gloria giggles  
_

_"I like it and I like you too" This again made Gloria blush.  
_

_Flashback end  
_

_G_loria and Norma Jean were broken out of their conversation by four familiar voices calling their names. It was the Amigos and they were looking for Gloria and Mumble's family.

"Hello Gloria, nice to see you again" Ramon said

"Hi, sorry I didn't catch your name the first time we met" Gloria replied

"That is okay, my name is Ramon. And might you be Mumble's mother"

"Yes I am. Nice to meet you Ramon and my name is Norma Jean."

After the Amigos introduced themselves they proceeded to tell them what had happened to Mumble and told not to worry. Gloria immediately broke down crying and Norma Jean was having a hard herself.

"I'm sorry boys, but we need some time alone" Norma Jean said

"No problema we understand, but can we stay? since we want wait for fluffy to get back." Ramon asked

"Sure any of Mumble's friends are welcome here"

Meanwhile Gloria was in pieces yet again, thinking of what could happen to happen to her love.

Days passed and while the Amigos were able to cheer Gloria a bit, she still refused to sing even when they offered to dance. One day she went out to teach at the school. Then she heard something she thought she would never hear again: tapping. She suddenly felt the urge to sing and proceeded to do so

_Celine Dion- I love you_

_I must be crazy now  
Maybe I dream too much  
But when I think of you  
I long to feel your touch_

She then turned around and saw him, tapping her a song to sing. They began dancing and inching closer to each other.

_To whisper in your ear_  
_Words that are old as time_  
_Words only you would hear_  
_If only you were mine_

_I wish I could go back to the very first day I saw you_  
_Should've made my move when you looked in my eyes_  
_'Cause by now I know that you'd feel the way that I do_  
_And I'd whisper these words as you'd lie here by my side_

_I love you, please say_  
_You love me too, these three words_  
_They could change our lives forever_  
_And I promise you that we will always be together_  
_Till the end of time_

They then reached each other and looked into each others eyes for a moment in which time seemed to stop. Then they proceeded to slow dance and showed just how much they loved each other._  
_

_So today, I finally find the courage deep inside  
Just to walk right up to your door  
But my body can't move when I finally get to it  
Just like a thousand times before_

_Then without a word he handed me this letter_  
_Read I hope this finds the way into your heart, it said_

_I love you, please say_  
_You love me too, these three words_  
_They could change our lives forever_  
_And I promise you that we will always be together_  
_Till the end of time_

_Well maybe I, I need a little love yeah_  
_And maybe I, I need a little care_  
_And maybe I, maybe you, maybe you, maybe you_  
_Oh you need somebody just to hold you_  
_If you do, just reach out and I'll be there_

_I love you, please say_  
_You love me too_  
_Please say you love me too_  
_Till the end of time_  
_These three words_  
_They could change our lives forever_  
_And I promise you that we will always be together_

_Oh, I love you_  
_Please say you love me too_  
_Please please_  
_Say you love me too_  
_Till the end of time_  
_My baby_  
_Together, together, forever_  
_Till the end of time_  
_I love you_  
_I will be your light_  
_Shining bright_  
_Shining through your eyes_  
_My baby_

When their beautiful song ended they were in each others arms, just rejoicing in their own company. Under the very same arc of ice from which Mumble departed, the couple kissed as they relished in each other and not paying attention to the crowd._  
_

"Um Mrs. Gloria is that your heart song?, cause that was amazing!" One of her students asked

Gloria giggled and Mumble blushed due to the crowd they had attracted.

"Well actually no it isn't, but it sure was one to remember right Mumble?"

"Yep!"

"Wait your the Mumble that Mrs. Gloria has been telling all about" another student asked

"I guess I am" Mumble replied

The whole class instantly raved and went after Mumble, asking him question after question.

"Guys... Guys! Calm down" Gloria was giggling at the scene, thinking of how good of a father Mumble would make.

Suddenly...

"Mumble Happy Feet, why have you come back?" Noah's voice was as loud and deep as ever. The old penguin seems to never lose any of his luster.

"I found who is taking the fish. They're big and kind of ugly, but the things that they can do..." Mumble said

"There be no such things as aliens" Everyone except a few seemed to agree with Noah and the Elders.

All of a sudden a beeping sound made its way throughout the whole colony. Everyone was tracing the sound to its origins and then they saw a weird thing on Mumble's back.

"Is that theirs?" Gloria asked fearfully.

"Yes, but don't worry I think its a way to find me" Mumble replied

"You fool you brought them here and turned them on your own kind? Traitor!" Noah exclaimed

"Wait, I thought you said there are no such things as aliens" Gloria said in a sarcastic manner.

An argument then ensued.

"Say how does that feet thing go again?" A penguin asked

"Yeah show us Mumble" Gloria said with a soft voice

"Well it's really quite easy" Mumble then showed them step by step how to tap and dance to a rhythm and before Mumble knew half of the colony was dancing!

"Mumble!" A voice called.

"Ma?. Ma! Mumble exclaimed

"Mumble, Mumble. Oh my little Mumble."

They embraced each other in a comforting manner.

"Honey you look so dazzling"

"Oh I missed you fluffy!" Ramon said.

"Where's pa?" Mumble said

"Oh trust me you do not want to see your father" Ramon replied

"Come on honey" Signaled Norma Jean

Mumble and Gloria followed Norma Jean to a cave in which Memphis has resided in for days without moving and barely eating.

"Pa?" Mumble called

"Mumble?" Memphis answered

"Pa!"

" *sighs* Mumble I am so sorry. There ain't been one day, not one day, where I have gone right about you"

"Pa" Mumble whispered in awe

"Dance with him Memphis, dance with your boy" Norma Jean encouraged

"You'll have to forgive me. The music is gone clean out of me" Memphis answered

"No it hasn't. Dancing is like singing with your body" Mumble answered

Mumble then went through and taught his own father how to dance. Memphis then started to sing his heart song with Norma Jean, but this time Mumble and Gloria joined in.

They suddenly stopped, because the device that was on Mumble's back began to emit a constant beeping sound. As if on cue, a huge flying machine flew over the colony, shocking the Elders. Some creatures aliens were seen getting out of this contraption and they were just as Mumble describes the aliens to be.

"I think you better dance now" Memphis told his son.

He smiled back and began to lead. Soon enough the whole colony got into it, even the Elders were dancing! In an epic display of dancing and unity the whole colony danced together with Mumble.

After some dancing, the aliens seemed to understand, because days after the fish were coming back. Now Mumble was a recognized hero as he brought the fish back and invented dancing. Now everyone danced and sung. They even taught dancing at schools now!

A week later...

After everything settled down and everything went back to normal, the Elders announced that mating season was approaching fast. Mumble didn't really know how to feel about his. On one hand he loved Gloria and would love to have a child, but on the other he did not want his child to suffer through the same kind of childhood he had to suffer through. He was afraid his son/daughter would turn out like him! Gloria on the other hand was thrilled by this and really wanted to have children with Mumble. One day Gloria decided to tell Mumble what was on her mind, after all couples were supposed to be honest to each other.

"Mumble!" Gloria called out.

"I'm right here Gloria" Mumble replied. They greeted each other with a hug and a kiss.

"Mumble you know I love you right?" Gloria started.

"Yeah, but what does...unless!" Mumble started to freak out, thinking the worst.

"No Mumble its not that! I told you you are the only penguin I will ever love."

"Oh.. okay then wh-"

"Mumble I want an egg"

"What?" Mumble asked.

"Gloria... I can't" Mumble reasoned.

"But Mumble why?"

"I just can't"

"Mumble please talk to me. I love you so much so please talk to me. Don't you love me?"Gloria cried out.

"Of course I love you and I always will!. It's just what if our little penguin turns out to be like me? Some penguin who can't even sing a simple tune" Mumble responded.

"Oh Mumble don't think like that!"

"You are a great penguin; A hero! Who cares if you can't sing I would love it if our little baby went on to be like his dancing daddy" Gloria kept telling Mumble to not see himself as some sort of inferior penguin.

"It doesn't matter if you can't sing. You have a great heart and that's why I love you!" Gloria finished.

Mumble was so happy. Throughout his life not many people have cared about him or even bothered to recognize him, but now he has Gloria, who is best singer of their generation. He went up to Gloria and embraced her.

"Gloria I love you so much. I don't what I would do without you"

* * *

**Well another chapter finished! So what did you think? Just press the review button right below to let me know :). **

**I need your help readers. I need you to help me decide whether I should write a lemon between Gloria and Mumble or not. There is a poll in my profile if you want to vote on it. If you don't just leave me a message saying what you would prefer. Thanks for reading! ;)**


	4. The Departure

**Hey guys this is chapter 5 and it is going to be a short transition chapter from the first Happy Feet to the second Happy Feet. Next chapter it the actual story will really get rolling! Remember to review :)  
**

**Chapter 5**

The sun slowly ascended over the horizon, the ice responded by reflecting all the colors of the light spectrum. The water slightly stirred and started moving in a soothing rhythm. A new day has risen on the land of the Emperor penguins. Although this day looked beautiful, for Mumble and just about every male it was a day of sorrow. It was the day females went out to sea to hunt for food. Mumble was especially disheartened, he just pieced his life together with Gloria and now she had to leave him.

"Mumble" Gloria called.

Mumble was too distracted in his own thoughts to notice. Apart from Gloria leaving he was still thinking about how the baby penguin would turn out. Would he/she have Gloria's voice or would he/she not be able to sing?

"Mumble!" Gloria called in a worried voice.

"Huh? Oh Gloria. Sorry I'm just thinking..." Mumble answered.

"Mumble what are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing"

"Oh come on you can tell me" Gloria said in a sweet voice as she got close to him and curled her neck around his in a loving manner. This action soothed Mumble and he returned the gesture.

"Sorry honey, I just don't want our little penguin to have my voice."

"Mumble its okay, the baby will be okay I promise. You are a great penguin and I really hope he'll have your heart Mumble." Gloria said in an earnest voice. All of Mumble's doubts were assuaged at that moment. Gloria always seemed to know what to do.

"It's not just that. After we been through to be together and now you have to leave me. I don't know h-" Gloria took that chance to give him a sweet kiss to soothe him yet again. Mumble immediately relaxed into the kiss.

"I'll miss you too Mumble" Gloria said with tears in her eyes.

"Gloria... I promise I'll take care of the baby and please come back as soon as you can. I love you so much" Mumble started shedding a few tears himself as they hugged goodbye.

Mumble then got an idea. He immediately started tapping a slow rhythm and started singing in a controlled voice.

_"I remember what you wore on the first day_  
_You came into my life_  
_And I thought hey_  
_You know this could be something_  
_Cause everything you do and words you say_  
_You know that it all takes my breath away_  
_And now I'm left with nothing."_

Unknown to everyone else, Mumble has actually been practicing how to sing! He knows he can't push his voice, but he could sing pretty well as long he didn't scream. Gloria was pleasantly surprised at how well Mumble actually sang that song. Tears were now freely flowing from both of them. Gloria then started singing to Mumble.

_"I remember every look upon your face,_  
_The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste_  
_You make it hard for breathing_  
_Cause when I close my eyes and drift away_  
_I think of you and everything's okay_  
_And finally now, were leaving."_

Unknown to them, there was a pretty big crowd watching this exchange. Now Mumble and Gloria started singing together signaling their love for each other. As they sung they also danced around each other in a cycle like movement. The only way to describe this dance was to compare it to Ying and Yang or the cycle of life.

_"And maybe it's true, that I can't live without you_  
_Well maybe two is better than one_  
_There's so much time, to figure out the rest of my life_  
_And you've already got me coming undone_  
_And I'm thinking two, is better than one."_

Even though it was a short song, it meant so much to Mumble and Gloria. Gloria was still shocked that Mumble sang to her, she knew that he didn't want to embarrass her with his voice even though she didn't mind his voice. She never thought Mumble would something like this.

"So what do you think? I know it's not the best-"

"Mumble...That was beautiful Mumble! I can't believe you sang for me!" Gloria was so happy she tackled Mumble and they both went rolling down a slope. When they reached the bottom, they were both laughing. Still Gloria knew she had to leave. They both made their way up the slope, where the egg was.

"Mumble I think it's time for me to go."

"Oh...Please be-careful Gloria, I don't what I would do without you" Mumble explained.

"I will and please take care of yourself Mumble. I want to hear you sing more often." Gloria said with flirtatious giggle. Mumble blushed a bit from that comment. Gloria then helped Mumble put the egg in his brood pouch.

"I love you Gloria"

"I love you too Mumble, make sure that egg is safe honey!" Gloria said as she started walking with the other females. Gloria knew this going to be hard on both of them, but it was part of life and so with a heavy heart she left him.

Mumble was watching Gloria leave. So many emotions were running through him at one point he really didn't know if he should be happy or just plain depressed. Nevertheless, Mumble knew this was part of being with Gloria and they would to endure it but that didn't make it any easier. Mumble noticed Gloria turned around to look at him one more time before leaving him. Their eyes met and sparks, so bright the sun could not shine, flew and both of them knew they would reunite again, because true love always finds a way.


	5. The Birth Of Family

**Here is chapter 5! Sorry it took me so long to update, but I write on inspiration and I really wanted to write the sequel MyWayWriter's story. Remember to read & review!  
**

**The Birth of Family**

The winds sung a calming breeze and the sun edging over the horizon. It was finally the day; the day all the females came back to their male mates. There in the front of the crowd was Mumble. Mumble held a grin on his face as he held his egg between his feet. He was very excited! He couldn't wait for his little penguin to hatch. The sun seemed to rise quickly and before Mumble knew it, the sun was at the peak of its orbit. Mumble let the egg roll out of his feet and now he waited. Mumble's first worry was that his egg wasn't going to hatch, his second worry was if the little guy would have voice or not. Several minutes passed, Mumble has not heard a single word about of any male so far, which meant no egg had hatched so far. Then...

*Crack*

Mumble saw his egg thumping. The little penguin was starting to break out of his egg's shell.

"Woah there little guy; it's okay I'm right here" Mumble consoled the currently struggling baby penguin.

*Crack*

Another hole was made and then finally the little penguin had broken completely free of his shell. He immediately looked up at Mumble with familiar blue eyes and smiled.

"Pa?" The newly hatched penguin said and ran towards his daddy.

"Yes son that's me." Mumble replied. He was so excited his feet were tapping on the snow and he hadn't noticed.

"PA!" Erik said ecstatically. He ran to his daddy and hugged his leg.

"It's okay Erik. Dad's here." Mumble said consolingly. Erik looked up at him with a happy smile on his face.

"Hey pa? What's my name?"

"Your name? Oh! Silly me. Your name will be...Erik" Mumble replied.

"Erik." The newly named penguin said slowly.

"I like it!"

"I'm glad you do Erik. Now come on we have to go meet your ma."

Erik looked to get in between his daddy's feet, but he quickly noticed something...interesting.

"Hey pa?"

"Yeah son?"

"What's that thing you're doing with your feet?" Erik asked.

"Oh! This is called tap dancing. You see what you do is you think of a song and then tap your feet. Like this!" Mumble said as he showed Erik how to dance.

Erik immediately started trying to dance and found that it was really fun. He would have ask his daddy to teach him more.

"Okay Erik come on. We'll have time for that later; trust me." Mumble explained.

Erik got in between his daddy's feet and felt warm. While Mumble was walking around, Erik was looking at other penguins. Out of the corner of Erik's eye, one chick caught his eye.

"Hey pa? Who is that?" Erik asked, pointing to another chick.

"Who? Bryan?" Mumble asked.

"Yeah and that other penguin that just came out of that thing I was in" Erik said. He really wanted to go over there.

"Well we have some time. You wanna go meet them?" Mumble asked.

"Yes! Please can we daddy?" Erik asked in a sweet little voice.

"Of course we can!" Mumble replied.

Mumble started walking over to Bryan. Erik felt something inside; he really wanted to see who this was. Erik so excited that he jumped out of Mumble's feet. Erik started running toward Bryan and his chick.

"Erik! Wait! Erik!" Mumble shouted as he went after his son. He already reminded Mumble of himself

Erik kept running as fast as his little legs could take him. He then looked back to see if his dad was behind him and bumped into a penguin in front of him. They both rolled down an icy slope and ended up on top one another.

"Ahhh!" The penguin on top of Eric moaned.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to" Erik stuttered out.

"It's okay." The penguin said in a feminine voice as she got off of Erik

When they both got up and shook the snow of their feathers and then they took a look at each other. Erik immediately noticed this penguin had beautiful brown eyes and, from her voice, he knew she was a girl penguin. Erik didn't regret bumping into her, even though he had apologized, he would do it again if he had the chance.

"Umm...Hi I'm Erik" The blue eyed penguin greeted.

"..." Erik noticed the girl penguin staring at him.

"Umm...hello! I'm sorry about what happened; I really didn't mean it!" Erik explained desperately, thinking she as mad at him.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry...It's just that you have pretty blue eyes." She answered. and giggled.

"T-Thanks U-Umm...What's your n-name?" Erik stuttered out. He was blushing so much it was noticeable through his feathers.

"I'm Boadicea, but you can call me Bo for short." Bo said.

"Bo... That's a pretty name" Erik said innocently. Bo immediately blushed at his compliment, however, Erik noticed it.

"Bo are you okay? Are you cold?" Erik asked, not knowing what a blush is and/or what it meant.

"N-No I-" Bo was cutoff as she felt flippers and feathers pressing against her. She noticed that Erik was hugging her. One thing was true though, she did feel warmer when Erik hugged her.

"It's okay I'm cold too. This way we'll both be warm." Erik said in pure innocence.

Bo didn't stop him from hugging her; in fact it felt kind of nice. She then put her flippers around him, returning the affectionate gesture. Bo was thinking about how nice this felt; Despite just having met each other being around Erik made Bo feel safe and comfortable.

**- With Mumble and Bryan -**

Mumble was running after Erik, worried that he would get lost among the crowd. He heard Erik giggling and then he saw Erik crash into another young penguin and there they went trolling rolling down a small hill. Mumble then noticed that Erik had bumped into Bryan's chick. Bryan was Mrs. Viola's mate.

"Bryan I am so sorry. It's just he wanted to come over here, but he got too excited and well...this happened." Mumble explained.

"Oh Mumble! It is quite alright. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree does it?" Bryan said in a humorous tone.

"Hehe I guess not." Mumble said as they both shared a laugh.

"Well what a little chick you have Mumble. What's his name? Or is your chick a girl?" Bryan asked.

"His name's Erik, what is you chick's name?" Mumble answered and asked.

"Her name is Boadicea." Bryan answered.

"It's a beautiful name, but don't you think it's a little complicated?" Mumble asked with a little laugh.

"Yes that thought has crossed my mind, so her nickname will be probably be Bo."

Mumble and Bryan noticed that the sun was almost at the twelve mark, which meant it was time for their mates to come back.

"Well I better go get Erik. It's almost time." Mumble said

"Oh! Your right. Let's go see what those two are up to." Bryan said.

**- Normal -**

The two male penguins were walking toward their children, but they were not expecting what they saw. Just over the hill there was Erik and Bo at the bottom, hugging each other with red streak near their little beaks.. A single thought ran through Mumble's mind.

_"Wow just like when I met Gloria."_

Both males could not take find in their heart to tear them apart, so they looked at each other and agreed to just watch. Their plan was soon ruined, because both chicks noticed them just standing there looking at them.

"Pa?" Both chicks said as both of their blushes intensified. They immediately broke away and ran to their respective fathers.

"Aw it's okay Erik there nothing to be embarrassed about. I think you just made your first friend." Mumble told his son as he pointed to Bo. Both chicks were still blushing.

"Hey pa? I'm kind of cold." Erik said.

"Then wat'cha waiting for son?" Mumble asked playfully, earning a gleeful stare from his son.

Both chicks were getting between their father's feet. They both looked at each other and smiled. Now they were ready to go.

"Hey Erik, before you go don't you want to say goodbye to your friend?" Mumble asked.

"Oh right. Thanks pa" Erik said.

"Bye Bo." Erik said.

"See you later Erik." Bo answered back.

And with that both parents left with their chick safely in between their feet. While Mumble was walking, Erik was thinking about Bo. He couldn't get her out of his head for some reason and, in a way, he really didn't want to.

"Pa?"

"Yes son?"

"Why can't I stop thinking about Bo and why do I feel so weird around her?" Erik asked.

"Well Erik how would you describe this feeling you have when your with her?" Mumble asked.

"Well its kind-" Erik was cut off by a booming voice.

"Wives Hoe!" Noah's voice made its way through to every single male in the colony.

A flurry of male penguins could be seen moving as fast as they can with their eggs in between their legs. You could also see the females running towards their mates and chicks. It was like seeing two massive armies of wives and husbands running at each other into an inevitable collision. The excitement was enticing! Mumble searched through the crowd for Gloria. Erik was a little scared, because of all the chaos going around; Mumble sensed this. Mumble then stopped in a clearing and looked down at his son.

"Erik, it's okay son. I'm here with you and as long as you're with me, nothing bad will happen to you. Okay son?" Mumble consoled. Erik immediately felt safe in Mumble's words.

"Thanks pa I really needed that." Erik said earnestly. He was glad to have a dad like Mumble.

"Mumble!" A voice called out.

"Gloria! I'm here! Gloria!." Mumble called.

"Hey pa? Is that ma?" Erik asked ecstatically.

"You bet it is." Mumble answered, while trying to spot Gloria.

Erik jumped out of Mumble's feet.

"Hey Erik?"

"Yeah pa?"

"Don't get too far from me okay? I just don't want to get hurt or lost." Mumble explained.

"Okay pa" Erik answered.

"Hey Mumble!" Gloria called.

Mumble turned around to see his beautiful mate, Gloria. His blue eyes met her golden brown eyes. Sparks flew and their love was re-ignited. Mumble and Gloria have missed each other every single day since they were separated. Mumble started tapping and got ready to sing yet again, but Gloria beat him to it.

**Gloria:** _Lying here with you so close to me_  
_It's hard to fight these feelings _  
_When it feels so hard to breathe_  
_Caught up in this moment _  
_Caught up in your smile_

Mumble and Gloria began to dance. Erik was watching this display between his parents in awe. He thought this was the most beautiful he's seen so far. Erik saw penguins gather up in a circle to watch his parents sing and dance with each other.

**Mumble:** _I never open up to anyone_  
_So hard to hold back_  
_When I'm holding you in my arms_

**Mumble and Gloria:**_ We don't need to rush this__  
__Let's just take it slow_  
_Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight_  
_Just a touch of the fire burning so bright_  
_I don't want to mess this thing up_  
_I don't want to push too far_  
_Just a shot in the dark that you just might_  
_be the one I've been waiting for my whole life_  
_So baby I'm alright with just a kiss goodnight_

_I know that if we give this a little time_  
_it'll only bring us closer to the love we wanna find_  
_It's never felt so real_  
_No it's never felt so right_

**_Mumble and Gloria: _**_Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight__  
__Just a touch of the fire burning so bright_  
_I don't want to mess this thing up_  
_I don't want to push too far_  
_Just a shot in the dark that you just might_  
_be the one I've been waiting for my whole life_  
_So baby I'm alright with just a kiss goodnight_

_No I don't want to say goodnight_  
_I know it's time to leave but you'll be in my dreams_  
_Tonight_  
_Tonight_  
_Tonight_

Mumble knew his voice was at its limit but he kept pushing and suddenly it cracked on him. He almost fell coughing, because he pushed his voice to the very extremes. Mumble was ashamed and disappointed and was about to apologize, but then he noticed Gloria helping him up while continuing sing. Spectators were shocked that Gloria not only kept singing after Mumble's slip up, but she actually encouraged him to sing again.

**Gloria:**_ Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight__  
__Just a touch of the fire burning so bright_  
_I don't want to mess this thing up_

Gloria slowed this part of the song down to give Mumble time to recover and start singing with her again. Mumble smiled and got back up again to sing with Gloria again._  
_**  
****Mumble and Gloria:**_ I don't want to push too far__  
__Just a shot in the dark that you just might_  
_be the one I've been waiting for my whole life_  
_So baby I'm alright with just a kiss goodnight_  
_Woah!_  
_Let's do this right with just a kiss goodnight_  
_With a kiss goodnight_  
_A kiss goodnight_

The song ended as their beaks formed the shape of heart and came together. Erik was amazed at this sight. He was completely dazzled by this performance. Mumble and Gloria then looked back at Erik, who was just staring at them, and Mumble motioned him to come over there.

"Mumble...is that him?" Gloria said. She was beginning to tear up.

"Yes this is our son, Erik." Mumble answered.

"Oh Mumble he's gorgeous" Gloria said.

"Come here Erik!" Gloria called.

"Ma!" Erik said happily as she ran to Gloria and gave her a big hug.

"Ma that was amazing! What you and pa did was awesome!" Erik said excitedly.

"I'm glad you think so honey, because we'll being showing you how to do that too!" Gloria explained.

"I know Pa told me he would teach me how to dance!" Erik said.

"Oh he did?" Gloria asked giving Mumble a loving look.

"Well, let me tell you something Erik, your daddy is the best dancer out of every penguin in the nation, in fact he taught everyone how to dance. Did you know that?" Gloria asked.

"No way! Really?" Erik asked with shining eyes.

"Yes he is" Gloria confirmed.

"Well Erik there is one thing ma forgot to tell you." Mumble said.

"What's that pa?" Erik asked.

"Your ma is the best singer out of anyone. She graduated top of her class and everything. What did you think about her singing son?" Mumble said.

"I thought it was awesome! Ma's voice seems to go on forever like...like...there's no end to it." Erik said as he beamed at Gloria.

The new family was having a great time talking and laughing together. Mumble and Gloria told their son more about themselves and the more they told him, the more Erik began to admire his parents. There was one question on his mind though.

"Hey pa? Why do you have feathers, while ma and the other penguins don't?" Erik asked.

"*sigh* Mumble knew this was coming, but did really have to be so soon?

"Well Erik I'm a little different from other penguins and this is just how I grew up." Mumble said, feeling a little depressed.

"Well I like it pa!" Erik said with a grin.

"R-Really?" Mumble asked.

"Yeah, you look like me!" Erik said.

"Oh Erik...Thanks son."

The families were now settling in their homes with their mates and chicks. During this time, the parents usually looked for a place to live in and the chicks are free to socialize with the other chicks. This was the perfect time for chicks to meet other chicks before school starts. Gloria noticed that there was a big group of chicks not too far away from them.

"Hey Erik, why don't you go play with the other chicks, while your daddy and I find somewhere we can settle." Gloria encouraged.

"Okay Ma" Erik said as he walked to the big group of penguins.

To be honest, Erik was nervous about meeting other penguins. He didn't want anybody to dislike him in any way. Erik silently joined the group without saying anything, but one certain penguin recognized him.

"Hey Erik!" Bo called.

"H-Hi Bo" Erik shyly replied.

It seemed as if every chick was in that group. While everyone else chatted with each other, Erik was quiet. Erik was really shy and resorted to just listening. It's not that Erik disliked anyone, but he didn't know what to talk about.

"Man what up with him. He so quiet" A rather big penguin said. Erik noticed the big penguin was referring to him. He flinched from that statement and started walking away from the group.

"Atticus be nice! He's my friend. Erik are you okay?" Bo asked catching up to him.

"Y-Yeah just nervous."

"Nervous about what?" Atticus asked catching up to both of them.

"About meeting other penguins."

"Oh! It's okay Erik, Atticus and I will be with you. Right Atticus?"

"Yeah that's right and sorry for what I said Erik. I didn't mean it like that." Atticus said.

"That's okay Atticus"

"Yeah yeah true that." Atticus said.

Erik and Bo giggled at Atticus' antics.

These three chicks quickly became friends. They ended up separating from the larger group of chicks and began to talk amongst themselves. Mumble and Gloria just found a place to live in and were coming back for Erik. They saw Erik had made some new friends. Mumble noticed one of them was Bo. He decided to tell Gloria about what happened.

"Gloria, you're not going to believe what happened to Erik when he hatched!" Mumble said excitedly.

"What happened?" Gloria asked.

"I think he found love Gloria." Mumble said.

"What? So young? Are you sure Mumble?" Gloria questioned.

"Well I'm not sure, but it just might be. Besides I remember when we first met. Someone fell into my egg and kissed me." Mumble teasingly said.

"W-Well that was just an accident" Gloria quickly said with a light blush.

"Oh is that why you stared at my eyes after you kissed me.". Mumble said with a grin.

"N-No I was just..." Gloria knew she had no way of getting out of this one, but got she an idea.

Gloria went up to Mumble and softly put her neck on his and brought her beak to his ear.

"And you didn't enjoy it?" Gloria questioned in a hushed tone. She got what she wanted as Mumble's face lit up.

They both shared a laugh. Mumble then told Gloria of how Erik bumped into Bo and how he found Erik when he went to look for him. Gloria was surprised at the similarities.

"So do you think?" Mumble asked.

"I don't know Mumble, but it might be." Gloria said with a smile.

Erik noticed his parents walking towards them and decided to go and greet them. He ran up to mother first and hugged her leg.

"Hey Ma!" Erik said.

"Hi Erik, are you having honey?" Gloria asked.

"Sure am Ma." Erik then went up to his father and hugged him

"Hey pa, I found Bo!" Erik said.

"I can see that son and who might your new friend be?" Mumble asked.

"Oh! This is Atticus."

"Atticus? That's Seymour's son." Gloria said.

"Seymour? Haven't seen him in a while." Mumble said.

"Yep that's my daddy alright" Atticus said.

"Well it's nice to meet you Atticus" Gloria said.

"Nice to meet Mrs and Mr uhhhh."

"Mumble."

"Gloria.

"Oh I know who you are. Daddy told me about you guys." Atticus said.

"Yeah yeah. Uncle Mumble is the best dancer and Mrs. G is the best singer." Atticus recalled.

"Yes my mother has also told me about you two. She had both of you in her class,when you were like us!" Bo said.

"Boadicea!" A voice called out.

"Yo Atticus!" A much deeper voice called out.

"Daddy!"

"Mother!"

Seymour and Mrs. Viola came to get their chicks, because they had also found places where they could stay. They both noticed Mumble and Gloria there.

"Hey Mumble! Gloria long time no see!" Seymour greeted.

"Its wonderful to see both of you again." Mrs. Viola said.

"And who is this little blue eyed penguin? Oh I can only imagine it would be the Erik Bryan told me about." Mrs. Viola said.

"Mumble this is your chick? Of course he is look at those blue eyes." Seymour asked.

"Yep. This is Erik."

Erik was a bit shy and hid behind his father's feet.

"Come on Erik. Say Hi."

"H-Hello" Erik stuttered out.

"Hey whats up Erik?" Seymour said.

"Oh my goodness such a sweet penguin." Mrs. Viola commented.

"Ma stop your embarrassing him!" Bo said.

"Oh I heard about the little incident you had with Erik when you hatched." Mrs. Viola said teasingly.

"Ma!" Bo whined, while blushing.

Erik was blushing at all this new attention he was getting. As if out of nowhere, the amigos made their appearance.

"Hey!" They all said together.

"Look all these little penguins. They're all so fluffy." Ramon commented. Raoul noticed a certain penguin with blue eyes hiding behind Mumble's legs.

"Hey look at that one, he has blue eyes. That can only mean he is Mumble's fluffy penguin." Raoul pointed out.

"Yeah, this is Erik." Mumble said.

"Aww come on fluffito say hi to Uncle Ramon." Erik giggled at Ramon's antics.

"And who is the big penguin?" Raoul asked.

"Who is the lovely lady?" Ramon asked.

"My name is Boadicea, but call me Bo for short." Bo said.

While everyone else was talking about the chicks and other things, Erik was thinking about his blue eyes. Everyone seemed to recognize him by the unique color of his eyes. Erik looked around to see if anyone else besides him and his dad had blue eyes. He had no such luck, everyone else had brown eyes.

"Hey pa?" Erik whispered, getting Mumble's attention.

"Yeah Erik?" Mumble asked.

"Why are we the only penguins with blue eyes?" Erik asked.

"Well that's a long story son and I'll have to tell you later, but you have blue eyes because I'm your dad." Mumble answered.

"Oh okay pa." Erik said. He was still curious at how his dad got blue eyes, but he willing to wait until his pa told him.

It was a joyous time, where everyone got together to talk about how things have been and about their chicks. It was getting late; the sun was descending in the horizon. The temperature was dropping and penguins got settled in their new homes. Mumble, Gloria, and Erik made their way to a cave with an abundance of space. They got settled in and sleep took them. Erik still wasn't sure about what happened with Bo, but he made it a priority to ask his parents about it tomorrow. He also had plenty of other questions, such as his blue eyes and his father's feathers. For now his eyes closed and the whole family was sleeping peacefully together.


	6. Familiar Doubts

**Finally chapter 6 is up! This chapter really sets up the whole happy feet 2 plot in my own perspective. It gives the themes and conflicts I will focusing on and developing throughout this story. I'm also going to try to incorporate more humor, because I know that's part of happy feet and my writing doesn't have a lot of that in it. Remember to review!**

* * *

**Familiar Doubts**

The sun rose with such a calm elegance; making its presence known to the many eyes of penguins. Not the usual bothersome light the sun emits into your eyes in when you are trying to sleep; it was welcomed wake up call. Penguins shook the snow and ice of off their bodies and chicks reciprocated. The chicks had survived their first few days of life. Mumble and Gloria woke up with a new caution; their son was still fast asleep with a peaceful face and timed deep breaths. The brand new parents looked at each other with smiles on their beaks.

"Mumble...Look at our little boy." Gloria whispered.

"Yeah..."

Mumble and Gloria just stood their staring at their new-born son. After a few minutes Mumble noticed the sun's position and decided to get head start on getting breakfast.

"Gloria, I'm going to go catch some fish okay? Just stay here and watch him." Mumble whispered.

"Okay honey, just please come back safely."

"I will. I always do." Mumble whispered with a grin

Mumble looked back one more time at his new family and then sledded away. He quickly found the way to the ocean and jumped into the water. Whatever part of him was still asleep just woke up with the rush of the cool feeling form the Antarctic waters. Mumble sped off in search of fish, but his mind was not in the fish but on his new family. He just couldn't believe that he had a family with the love if his life! He never thought being a father felt this great. The feeling of pride you get just from looking at your own son was indescribable. Mumble was snapped out of his thoughts, when he saw a school fish. He started catching them one by one and throwing them up in the ice to then take home. After a few hours of hunting fish down he caught about forty fish. Mumble knew this shore was popular, so he left about half of the fish there so the other penguins would not have to do as much work. Mumble started walking away with flippers full of fish.

"Hey Mumble! What you doin' up here so early man?" Seymour greeted.

"Hey Seymour! Just thought I would get an early head-start on breakfast." Mumble explained.

"Good man. How's your family doing?"

"Great! Erik is still sleeping and Gloria is watching him. How about yours?" Mumble asked.

"Same here brother. Hopefully our chicks will be good friends."

"I'm sure they already are." Mumble answered.

"Well I have to head home. I'm sure Gloria is worried and I can't hold these fish for much longer." Mumble said while starting to struggle with the fish.

"Well I'll be seeing you around Mumble!" Seymour said walking towards the shore.

"Okay! See ya!" Mumble said as he, once again, started walking home.

**- With Gloria -**

Gloria had been watching Erik the whole time Mumble has been gone. She could not tear her eyes from her little boy. He looked so adorable sleeping and he had a unique fluffy arrangement on his head that looked different, but just right. Mumble has been gone for at least an hour now and, as always, Gloria got worried about her mate, she just couldn't imagine life without him. She decided to sing a bit to calm her nerves. _(Slipped away - Avril Lavigne)_

**Gloria:**_ Na na, na na na, na na_  
_I miss you, miss you so bad_  
_I don't forget you, oh it's so sad_  
_I hope you can hear me_  
_I remember it clearly_

_The day you slipped away_  
_Was the day I found it won't be the same_  
_Ooooh_

_Na na na na na na na_

_I didn't get around to kiss you_  
_Goodbye on the hand_  
_I wish that I could see you again_  
_I know that I can't_

Gloria then stopped singing, because she felt a sudden tug on her feet. It was Erik; his eyes were full of tears.

"Honey what's wrong?" Gloria asked.

"T-The s-song." Erik said, in between sniffles.

"What about it?" Gloria asked softly.

"I-Is pa o-okay?" Erik asked.

"Yeah of course he's alright. He's just out catching us fish." Gloria explained.

"I-I though t-the song w-was about pa!" Erik said bursting into more tears. Gloria realized her mistake. She laid down and took Erik into her arms.

"Oh Erik! I'm sorry. It's just I haven't seen your daddy in such a long time since yesterday." Gloria explained. Erik calmed down a bit, but he was still crying.

"You know Erik; singing really helps when you're feeling down." Gloria said

"Really?" Erik asked looking at Gloria with those deep blue eyes.

"That's why I was singing." Gloria said. _(Halo- Beyonce)_

**Gloria: **_Remember those walls I built_  
_Well Baby they are turning down_  
_And they didn't even put up a fight_  
_They didn't even make a sound_  
_I found a way to let you in_  
_But I never really had a doubt_  
_Standing in the light of your halo_  
_I got my angel now_

Erik breaths were becoming deeper and rhythmic as Gloria sang. Tears were still falling, but slowly stopping. Erik snuggled deeper into Gloria as she kept singing.

**Gloria:**_ It's like I've been awaken__  
__Every rule I had to break_  
_It's the risk that I'm taking_  
_I ain't never gonna shut you out_

Erik's face had that happy smile again. Gloria then let Erik go and slowly stood up. She motioned Erik to come outside with her. She began to sing again, so that other penguins could hear her.

**Gloria:**_ Everywhere I'm looking now_  
_I'm surrounded by your embrace_  
_Baby I can see your halo_  
_You know you're my saving grace_  
_You're everything I need and more_  
_It's written all over your face_  
_Baby I can feel your halo_  
_Pray won't fade away_

Gloria now had backup singers and dancers helping her with the song. Erik was mesmerized by his mother's voice and he could see that he wasn't the only one. Gloria then turned around to look at her son and began to sing to him.

**Gloria & Backup singers:** _I can do your halo_  
_I can see your halo_  
_I can be your halo_  
_I can see your halo_

_Hit me like a ray of sun_  
_Burning through my darkness night_  
_You're the only one that I want_  
_You got addicted to your lie_  
_I swore I'd never fall again_  
_But this don't even feel like falling_  
_Gravity came again_  
_To pull me back to the ground again_

_It's like I've been awaken_  
_Every rule I had to break_  
_It's the risk that I'm taking_  
_I'm never gonna shut you out_

_Everywhere I'm looking now_  
_I'm surrounded by your embrace_  
_Baby I can see your halo_  
_You know you're my saving grace_  
_You're everything I need and more_  
_It's written all over your face_  
_Baby I can feel your halo_  
_Pray won't fade away_

**_Gloria:_**_ I can do your halo_  
_I can see your halo_  
_I can be your halo_  
_I can see your halo_

Gloria finished the song and the whole time Erik's eyes were on her. Erik ran up to her and hugged her leg to show how much that song meant to him. Gloria brought her beak down to Erik's head and rubbed it in an affectionate manner. When Gloria brought her head back up she saw Mumble, who seemed to be struggling with a bunch of fish in his flippers.

"Erik look daddy's here!" Gloria told him.

"Pa!" Erik shouted as he ran to him.

"Hey Erik." Mumble said, while he was still struggling with the fish. Erik went to hug his leg.

"No wait!" Mumble warned, but it was too late. Erik pretty much tackled his leg and since Mumble was struggling with the fish, he lost his balance and fell. The fish went everywhere.

"Daddy!" Erik screamed.

"Ahh!" Mumble moaned.

"Honey are you okay?" Gloria asked, while running to him.

"Yeah I'm fine." Mumble said groggily. He noticed that Erik had tears in his eyes.

"Pa I'm really sorry. I-I thought you left forever and-"

"Erik! It's okay son. I'll always be here for you." Mumble softly said. Erik ran to him again and hugged him, while he was on the ground. He then looked up at his father with a big smile.

"Besides it's not a big deal. We can just pick up the fish." Mumble told Erik.

"Gloria did something happen while I was gone?" Mumble asked in a worried voice.

"Well you were taking a long time and I was getting worried, so I started singing." Gloria explained.

"Erik listened to the song and thought that you had...left us." Gloria said.

"Oh! Sorry I took so long honey. I didn't mean to." Mumble said.

"It's okay it's just I haven't spent a lot of time with until yesterday and...I missed you." Gloria explained, while looking at the ice. The ice was getting a bit wet. Mumble went up to her and put his flippers around her.

"I missed you too." Mumble whispered to her.

Suddenly they felt something get in between them and found it was Erik, who was giggling. Erik joined the hug between both of his parents. Gloria was rubbing Erik's head affectionately.

"Hey Erik are hungry?" Mumble asked.

"Yeah" Erik answered. Mumble went up and picked up a few small fish and gave it to Erik.

"Here you go son." Mumble said, as he tossed a bigger fish to Gloria and ate one himself.

"Thanks pa." Erik said.

The family was having their breakfast in peace. Mumble looked at the sun and it still fairly early to have breakfast, but he did want to get head-start.  
Erik still had some questions on his mind though.

"Hey mommy?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"Why do penguins sing?" Erik asked innocently.

"Well we sing to find love." Gloria answered. Erik gave her a confused look.

"There are these songs inside every penguin Erik. They're called heart songs. These songs just come to you and it's a song that will be with you forever." Gloria explained.

"Then when we find these songs we sing them to each other. That's how I found your daddy." Gloria said.

"Do I have one of those songs?" Erik asked with big eyes.

"Of course you do! You just have to find it." Gloria answered with glee.

"What's your heart song ma?" Erik asked.

"My heart song is called "Boogie Wonderland"; I'll have to sing it to you sometime." Gloria answered.

"What's yours pa?"

Mumble shot Gloria a worried glance and Gloria returned his glance with an encouraging smile.

"Well son, I don't have a song."

"Bu I though mommy said everyone has heart song?"

"Well Erik, I can't sing. Instead of singing I tap dance."

"But daddy I heard you sing to mommy!"

"Yeah, but it's not...natural for me. I was born without being able to sing. That's why my voice gave out on me in the middle of the song." Mumble told his son.

"But, but then how did you find mommy?" Mumble hesitated to answer.

"Erik honey, maybe daddy can tell you later." Gloria said seeing that Mumble really didn't want to talk about this.

"But I have other questions too!" Erik whined.

"I promise I will answer them later, but you can see daddy isn't feeling well." Gloria explained as she pointed at Mumble who was currently looking at some random piece of ice.

"Oh okay." Erik said.

"Hey Erik!" Atticus and Bo shouted.

"Bo! Atticus!" Erik said excitedly.

"Wanna play with us?" Bo asked.

"I want to, but I gotta do something first." Erik shouted back.

Mumble knew that this would come up eventually; he didn't think it would be so soon. He doesn't want to disappoint his son. Mumble was feeling something he hasn't felt in a long time; he was afraid. He was afraid that Erik would reject him. He was broken out of his thoughts, when he felt something on his left leg. It was Erik.

"Hey pa are you okay?"

"Yeah...Just thinking."

"Sorry for not answering your question son, but I promise to tell you about it later." Mumble said.

"Okay pa...But I got one more question." Erik said

"And what would that be?'

"Can I go play with Bo and Atticus?" Erik asked, while giggling

"Yeah of course you can!" Mumble said, while laughing.

"Have fun Erik, but don't go near the water!" Mumble warned.

"I won't pa!"

Erik hugged his mother one more time before going off with Atticus and Bo.

"Gosh! About time Erik!" Bo scolded.

"S-Sorry Bo." Erik apologized. Bo smiled back.

"Whatever, it don't matter now. Let's go!" Atticus said.

"We got to enjoy our last of freedom!" Atticus declared.

"Yeah...Wait what?" Bo said.

"What do you mean Atticus?" Erik asked.

"Daddy told me tomorrow we start school tomorrow." Atticus explained

"School?"

"Yeah where we learn to sing and stuff. My mommy is a teacher there." Bo said proudly.

"Oh okay." Erik said with mixed feelings.

"Well let's go play before it gets dark." Atticus said.

**- With Mumble and Gloria -**

Mumble and Gloria were watching the kids play from ways away. Gloria was wondering what was bothering Mumble so much. He looked...distracted. They were leaning/resting against a hill of snow, Gloria wanted to be close to him, but Mumble's mind was clearly else wear. She snuggled into his feathers and looked at him with a worried look.

"Mumble are you okay?" Gloria said softly.

"Yeah..."

"Please tell me what's wrong Mumble." Gloria said with the same soft voice. Mumble hated seeing her worry like this.

"Oh honey, it's just I'm worried about telling Erik."

"About what?"

"About...me."

"Mumble..."

"Erik loves you. I mean just look at these few days. He's been fascinated with you."

"But Gloria he doesn't know. What if I just can't be a good father?"

"What are you talking about Mumble? You're a great dad." Gloria said. Mumble still looked unsure. Mumble felt Gloria slip out of his embrace. He gave her a confused look and she smiled back. _(Beautiful - Christina Aguilera)_

**Gloria:**_ Everyday is so wonderful_  
_Then suddenly_  
_It's hard to breathe_  
_Now and then I get insecure_  
_From all the pain_  
_I'm so ashamed_

Gloria could see she had Mumble's attention, so she motioned him get up and help her. Mumble complied and started tapping a slow and steady beat. He immediately recognized the song and smiled on the inside.

**Gloria:**_ I am beautiful_  
_No matter what they say_  
_Words can't bring me down_  
_I am beautiful_  
_In every single way_  
_Yes words can't bring me down_  
_Oh no_  
_So don't you bring me down today_

Mumble and Gloria noticed they were attracting a crowd and some of the penguins wanted to join in the party. Soon enough they had massive numbers of penguins dancing and singing backup.

**Gloria:**_ To all your friends you're delirious_  
_So consumed_  
_In all your doom, ooh_  
_Trying hard to fill the emptiness_  
_The pieces gone_  
_Left the puzzle undone_  
_Ain't that the way it is_

Gloria looked directly into Mumble's eyes.

**Gloria:**_ You're beautiful_  
_No matter what they say_  
_Words can't bring you down_  
_Oh no_  
_You're beautiful_  
_In every single way_  
_Yes words can't bring you down_  
_Oh no_  
_So don't you bring me down today_

Mumble danced his way to Gloria and offered her his flipper, which she gladly accepted.

**Gloria and backup singers:**_ No matter what we do_  
_(No matter what we do)_  
_No matter what we say_  
_(No matter what we say)_  
_We're the song inside the tune_  
_(Yeah, oh yeah)_  
_Full of beautiful mistakes_

_And everywhere we go_  
_(And everywhere we go)_  
_The sun will always shine_  
_(The sun will always, always, shine)_  
_And tomorrow we might awake_  
_On the other side_

_We're beautiful_  
_No matter what they say_  
_Yes words won't bring us down_  
_Oh no_  
_We are beautiful_  
_In every single way_  
_Yes words can't bring us down_  
_Oh no_  
_So don't you bring me down today_

**Gloria:**_ Oh, oh_  
_Don't you bring me down today_  
_Don't you bring me down, ooh_  
_Today_

Gloria had convinced him yet again that there was nothing wrong with being a little different, in fact being different is better than being normal. Now explaining this to his chick is his next challenge.

The sun was setting on this eventful and penguins everywhere were getting ready to eat their last meal of the day. During the song Mumble and Gloria lost track of Erik and are currently trying to find him.

"Erik!" Gloria called.

"Erik where are you!" Mumble called.

"Mumble where could he be?"

**- With Erik, Bo, and Atticus -**

The trio was just walking around finding ice slides and other fun activities. That was until they heard Gloria's voice singing; they began to listen to the song, but didn't get a chance to as massive swarm of penguins started moving towards her. The kids were wrapped up in the chaos of the party. They did manage to find each other though. At the end of the song and when everyone calmed down, the three chicks found that they didn't know where they were. Erik could not see his parents anywhere.

"Pa!" Erik screamed out. His breaths were becoming short and erratic.

"Erik calm down!" Atticus said.

"Erik are you okay?" Bo asked softly

"Y-yeah?" Erik said with a few tears in his eyes.

"Erik are you-" Atticus said in a loud voice. Bo gave him a glare.

"Atticus you're being too loud!" Bo sternly said. Atticus stayed quiet.

"Erik its okay to cry. It's okay to be scared." Bo said

"..."

Bo felt hurt to see Erik so...vulnerable. It hurt to see those tears roll down his feather; it hurt her so much. She instinctively embraced him and found that he immediately returned the gesture.

"I'm scared too." Bo whispered in his ear. Bo started crying at this point as well.

Atticus was on the verge of tears as well, but he wouldn't let anyone see him cry. Truth is they were all very worried, because they couldn't find their parents. Atticus looked at Eric and Bo; he wanted to hug them too, but he kept his macho mask.

"Atticus." Erik called.

"Huh?"

"Come here." Bo said

"Nah I'm good." Atticus lied.

"Atticus we can see your eyes are wet." Bo pointed out. Atticus was now shedding tears. Erik and Bo looked at each other and they came over Atticus to hug him. The three chicks were all comforting one another. They're bonds were now stronger than ever.

"Wait did you hear that?" Erik said.

"Hear what?" Bo asked.

"Erik!" A voice called out. Erik knew that was his mother's voice.

"It's mommy!" Erik said with excitement as he broke away and ran that direction. He looked back to see Bo and Atticus staying back.

"Come on!" Erik called. Bo and Atticus then ran to catch up with him with smiles on their faces.

The trio ran to the source of the voice and immediately found Mumble and Gloria. To the chicks' surprise Seymour and Mrs. Viola were also there. The problem is that the chicks were on top of a high hill of ice.

"Oh kids! Oh thank goodness they are all right." Mrs. Viola said.

"Yo Atticus you alright?" Seymour called.

"Yeah I'm alright daddy!" Atticus answered.

"Erik you're okay!" Gloria said.

"Mommy how are going to get down?" Erik asked.

"I know how!" Bo said before anyone answer.

Bo took a look over the edge and looked at how steep the hill was. Bo had a plan to get down safely and at the same time. She slowly got closer and closer to the edge and jumped off. She slid down the hill using the slope and landed safely.

"Wow Bo! How did you do that?" Erik asked amazed.

"It's not that hard Erik. Just slide down the hill. I know it looks hard, but I know you can do it!" Bo said from the bottom.

"Boadicea! I'm glad you are okay" Mrs. Viola said, while hugging her

"Of course I am mom!" Bo said. They moved out of the way to look at what Erik and Atticus would do.

Erik got close to the edge and looked down; he immediately backed away. Erik knew he couldn't slide on his feet, so he got an idea. He got on his belly and started approaching the edge again.

"Erik what are you doing?" Atticus asked.

"Erik please be-careful!" Mumble shouted. He was standing right below the edge to catch his son if necessary.

Erik slid of the edge and started gaining speed on the ice. Instead of getting scared though, Erik became excited. He was enjoying the thrill of the ride. He landed safely. Bo was running up to him.

"Nice job Erik!"

"Thanks. That was really fun." Erik said as he high-fived Bo.

"Pa!" Erik ran up this father and hugged him.

"Erik!" Gloria said as she came up to him.

"Mommy!"

"I was so worried about you." Gloria said.

The family got out of the way to see watch Atticus. Atticus ended up doing the same thing Erik did and came down safely. Erik and Bo made their way to Atticus and tackled him to the ground with a hug.

"Atticus you did it!" Erik said

"Of course I did! Was there ever any doubt?" Atticus said.

"Ummmm...Maybe." Bo said.

The three chicks shared laugh and then they huddled up. The parents were just watching the entire scene play out with smiles on their beaks. It was almost completely dark now; it was time for the families to go home.

"Erik it's time to go home sweetie." Gloria said.

"Aww just a bit longer please mommy."

"Sorry sweetie, but it's already dark."

"Boadicea! It's time to go." Mrs. Viola said.

"Same here Atticus! Come on!" Seymour said.

"Already, that's no fun." Bo said.

"Aww this is so not fair. Atticus said, while stomping the ground.

The chicks approached their respective parents and were ready to leave.

"Bye Bo. Bye Atticus." Erik said, while waving his flipper.

"See ya guys tomorrow at school!" Atticus said.

"See you guys later!" Bo said.

Everyone was walking home with their chicks to get ready to eat their last meal of the day and get some sleep for the next day. Tomorrow is a special day for all chicks; it was the day school started. For the adults it meant they had to start working on getting supplies or doing other things to help the community. Erik still did not have a good idea of what school was.

"Pa?"

"Yeah?"

"What's school?"

"School? Well school is where you learn how to sing." Erik gave him a confused look.

"You have adult penguins teach you how to sing and then they help you find your heart song."

"Your mom is going to be there teaching."

"Really?" Erik said, looking to his mother for answers.

"Yeah I'm going to be teaching you guys how to sing."

"Yay!" Erik said while jumping up and down.

"Wait, but what does daddy do?"

"Well son, I have to catch fish to eat."

"Oh! Can I come with you?" Erik asked with pleading eyes.

"But Erik you have school remember?"

"Awww!" Erik said pouting. Mumble and Gloria laughed.

The rest of the night went by smoothly. The family ate dinner and is currently getting ready to get some sleep. The night was a beautiful mix the blue shine from the moon and black shadow from the lack of light. Mumble couldn't wait to get up tomorrow and live in a new day with his family, especially since his little boy is going to school for the first time. He hoped, in his heart, Erik had not inherited the voice he has.

* * *

**There it is! The actual Happy Feet 2 plot will not start until chapter 8 or 9. I'm doing this because I don't feel the movie gave us enough detail about the early stages of Erik's life and the family's relationship. They didn't even tell us how Erik,Bo, and Atticus met and became friends!**


	7. Breaking point

**Again I'm sorry for the delay, but this chapter took me a while to think through. Remember to review and without further or do: Chapter 7!**

**Breaking Point**

A gleam of light pierced the night and slowly increased in size. The sun was peaking over the horizon, which signaled the start of a new day. The Happy Feet family just woke up; they were starting their routine. Well at least most members were awake; Erik was still peacefully sleeping. Mumble went on his usual trip to the shore and Gloria watched over Erik. The sun was now all the way above the horizon and Erik stirred.

"Ma?" Erik asked in a hushed tone since he just woke up.

"Yes honey?" Gloria answered. Erik opened his eyes, shook some snow off, and faced his mother.

"Do I have to go to school?"

"Yes you do."

"Awww! Why?" Erik whined.

"Because you need an education." Gloria answered in a soft voice. Erik then pouted.

"You know you won't be alone. Bo and Atticus will be with you." Gloria said. Erik's eyes immediately lit up.

"Oh yeah!" Erik said.

"Hey ma?"

"Yes?"

"I'm kind of hungry."

"Daddy should be here any second now and then we can eat okay?

"Okay."

"Actually...Erik do you wanna help mommy do something?" Gloria asked innocently. She had a plan.

"Yeah!" Erik said ecstatically.

After a few minutes of waiting, footsteps were heard in the cave.

"Gloria! Erik!" Mumble called. He had plenty of fish to last them the day. Mumble dropped the fish and put them in a corner, then he went to look for Erik and Gloria.

"Where could they have gone off to?" Unknown to Mumble, Gloria was just outside the cave while Erik was hiding behind a corner.

"Gloria! E-"

"Boo!" Erik jumped out of the corner and attached himself to Mumble's legs.

"Ahh!" Mumble jumped back, but was losing his balance. Erik let go of his daddy's legs with a giggle. Mumble fell on his back.

"Oof! Ow!" Mumble whined. Gloria and Erik were standing right over him laughing.

"Oh ha ha you are so funny." Mumble said sarcastically. Though he did have a smile.

"Aww come on Mumble lighten up!" Gloria said.

"Daddy!" Erik called. He jumped on Mumble's chest and was currently using it as a trampoline. Gloria couldn't help but laugh harder. Erik stopped jumping.

"Hey pa?"

"Yeah" Mumble said with some effort.

"I'm kind of hungry."

"Well I brought food.'

"Where is it?"

"It's right in that corner stacked up. Oof!" Mumble said as Erik jumped off his chest and ran for the fish. Erik grabbed a big fish and struggled to move it, but eventually brought it over to his father. Erik then dropped the fish and hugged his dad.

"C'mon daddy! Get up." Erik said.

"Okay okay. I'm getting up."

"Here I got this for you." Erik said as he presented the fish. Mumble scooped up the fish and ate it.

"Thanks son. Now come on let's go eat."

"Where's mommy?" Erik asked.

"Good question." Mumble said without an answer.

"Boo." Gloria whispered, while she hugged him from behind.

"There she is!" Mumble said.

The family went to go have their breakfast in peace. This was a special day after all; it was Erik's first day of school. Mumble and Gloria were terribly excited; they wanted to see what their son could do. Erik was also excited since that meant he got to see his friends again, but he was also very nervous. After breakfast Mumble and Gloria would have to show Erik where the school and walk him there. After a few minutes of walking, Mumble and Gloria spotted Mrs. Viola, the teacher, under the same crevice that they both learned in.

"Okay Erik we're here." Mumble said.

"But pa my heart is thumping really fast." Erik complained.

"Oh are you nervous honey?" Gloria asked.

"Uh huh!" Erik said.

"Honey calm down. It's all going to okay; Your daddy and I will be back later okay." Gloria said with a soft voice, while rubbing Erik's back.

"Just take a deep breath honey." Gloria said. Erik started breathing normally again.

"Don't worry Erik we'll be back in a little while. I promise." Mumble said

"You promise?"

"Of course!"

"Okay I'll miss you guys."

"We'll miss you too Erik." Gloria said.

"Erik!" Bo called out from a group chicks in the school.

"Bo?" Erik said.

"Erik come over here!"

Erik started making his way towards Bo. He stopped abruptly and looked back towards his parents one more time, then kept going. Mumble and Gloria were smiling to each other; they knew their son would make them proud. Erik reached the group where Bo called him from, but he suddenly couldn't find her. He felt someone touch his left shoulder.

"So Erik are you ready?"

"I-I guess so."

"Aww come on Erik of course you are. This gonna be fun!"

"Hey guys! Don't forget bout me!" Atticus said.

"Atticus!" Erik and Bo said.

"Yeah who else!" They all shared a laugh.

"All right everyone! Settle down we are going to start!" Mrs Viola said.

The school day went by pretty fast and it was surprisingly really fun. Mrs. Viola really interacted with everyone and even cracked some jokes. Erik, being shy, didn't participate much although he was encouraged and occasionally dragged into somethings by Bo and Atticus. Bo and Atticus quickly made themselves known in the class. Atticus was already busting out rhymes, while Bo made an impression with her knack for parkour and gymnastics. Today's school schedule just consisted of introductions, so nothing really happened.

"Well it was nice to meet all of you and I trust I will see you tomorrow!" Mrs. Viola said.

"See Erik I told you it'd be fun!" Bo said.

"Nu uh!" Erik said giggling.

"Did too!" Bo shot back. Erik was on the ground laughing at this point.

"What are you laughing at!" Bo shouted with a blush. She was a bit frustrated and Erik couldn't stop laughing.

"Erik!"

"B-Bo I'm just *giggle* kidding." Bo puffed out her cheeks and looked away from Erik.

"Aww come on Bo! I was kidding!." Erik reasoned, while getting up.

"Then admit that I was right!" Bo demanded.

"You were right." Erik said, while trying to suppress his laughter. Erik couldn't hold it in any longer and fell over laughing. Atticus joined in Erik's laughter.

"Not you too Atticus!" Bo said with a smile. She was starting to giggle a bit.

"Cut it out guys!" Bo said, while giggling.

"All right. All right." Erik said, while getting up.

"You too Atticus!" Bo said.

"Okay! Okay." Atticus said.

The three chicks stopped laughing and looked at each other and then they fell down laughing again. The following few months went by pretty smoothly. Erik was gaining more and more confidence as the days went by. Bo, Erik, and Atticus had all become very close friends; they were virtually inseparable. Erik still had not had a chance to ask his parents about these feelings he got when he was around Bo. He had other questions that also remained unanswered such as his father's past, but he didn't push it. Mumble seemed pretty sensitive when talking about his past. Erik was currently in his home staring off into space with questions on his mind.

"Hey Erik!" Mumble called.

"Huh?"

"You okay there buddy?"

"Yeah just thinking."

"Well come on these fish won't eat themselves!" Mumble said.

"Okay pa!" Erik said with a little chuckle.

**- Next Day -**

It was another day for the Happy Feet family. The sun was beginning to shine and the chicks were beginning to stir. Erik was just waking up and, as always, his parents were already awake. The family ate breakfast and after walking Erik to school they parted ways.

"Hey Erik!" Bo called.

"Hey Bo." Erik greeted as he approached the school.

"Where's Atticus?"

"Oh I don't know, but I'm sure he'll be here soon. Never mind that though, are you ready for today?" Bo asked excitedly.

"For-"

"Hey guys sorry I'm late." Atticus said interrupting Erik

"All right everyone settle down. Today is a very special day! Anyone know why?" Mrs. Viola asked.

There was complete silence in the class until Bo raised her flipper. Since no one else seemed to know Mrs. Viola had no choice, but to let Bo answer the question.

"Yes Bo."

"It's when we learn our heart songs!" Bo said.

"Very good! Can anyone tell me what a heart song is?" Mrs. Viola asked.

The class was again in complete silence except for Bo, who had her flipper raised in the air again. Erik remembered talking about heart songs with his parents and immediately raised his flipper.

"Yes Erik." Everyone's eyes were on Erik since he rarely volunteered.

"Umm it's the song inside of us that will always be with us. It shows us who we really are." Erik answered.

"Very good! Now this isn't something I can teach you, because the song is already inside you. You just have to find it and let it out."

"Now let's take a moment and close our eyes. Take a deep breath and look inside yourselves; listen very carefully." Mrs. Viola instructed. The whole class closed their eyes and listened for their songs. After a few minutes of this exercise many chicks reopened their eyes.

"Now who wants to sing their song?" Plenty of flippers were raised and many shouts were heard.

"Okay Atticus you can go."

"Yeah yeah here we go!" Atticus said. _(So good - B.O.B)_

_Girl tell me how you feel__  
__What your fantasy_  
_I see us on a beach down in Mexico_  
_You can put your feet up_  
_Be my senorita_  
_We ain't gotta rush_  
_Just take it slow_

"Well like father like son I always say! Good job Atticus!" Mrs. Viola said.

"Who wants to go next?" Mrs. Viola said. She then noticed Erik and Bo talking amongst themselves.

"Erik and Boadicea!" Mrs. Viola called.

"Y-Yes?" Erik stuttered.

Do you to have anything to share with the class?" Mrs. Viola asked sternly. Both chicks shook their heads.

"N-No." Erik said shyly. Bo stayed quiet.

"Well since you two want to talk so much, how about you sing your heart songs." The two chicks stayed silent.

"Erik come up here please." Mrs. Viola said. Erik did as he was asked.

"Now show us your heart song."

Erik was in the center of the small crevice being observed by everyone. He didn't know what to sing, because he never heard his song in the first place. Erik looked at his friends for some sort of support, but Atticus was talking to some other penguin and Bo was just giving him a blank stare. He had no idea what to do and he knew he was alone on this one. The shy penguin started to shake and whimper from the pressure.

"Is that it? What a joke!" A chick shouted from the crowd. The entire class erupted in laughter except for Bo and Atticus. Bo felt guilty at this point; she knew Erik hadn't found it yet, because that's what they were talking about.

"Enough!" Mrs. Viola shouted. All laughter immediately ceased.

"Now Erik what's wrong?" Mrs. Viola asked in a sweet voice.

"I-I don't know w-what to s-sing." Erik stuttered out.

"What do you mean? You didn't hear anything?"

"N-No."

"Well I guess it runs in the family. Your father didn't find his heart song the first time either, so don't worry. It's okay not to know it yet and I promise you will find it." Mrs. Viola consoled. Erik took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"O-okay." Erik said as he went back to his spot next to Bo.

"I'm really sorry Erik I-" Bo was cutoff in the middle of her apology.

"It's okay Bo; it wasn't your fault." Erik said, while looking down at his feet.

"But-"

"Boadicea can you sing your heart song for us please." Mrs. Viola said.

"I-I can't."

"And why not?" Mrs. Viola asked her daughter.

"Because I...haven't found mine either." Bo said. Everybody was silent. Mrs. Viola was just staring at Bo.

"Very well then! Who would like to perform next?" Mrs. Viola asked.

Flippers were waved and shouts were heard. The rest of the day consisted of the rest of the class performing their respective heart songs. Everyone turned out to have one except for Erik and Bo. Erik was still disappointed and Bo still felt guilty about what happened to Erik. Atticus was just confused; he didn't know what to do.

"Okay we are done for today!" Mrs. Viola declared.

The three chicks started to leave the crevice in which the school was in. They still held their respective feelings about the past situation. They remained silent for a while; they were just thinking.

"Erik..." Bo said.

"Bo it's okay." Erik said.

"No it's not! It's my fault that everyone laughed at you!" Bo shouted.

"Bo..."

"It's not fair that you got laughed at for not finding your heart song." Bo said frustratingly.

"Well...at least I'm not alone." Erik said.

"Oh so it's good that I didn't find one either!"

"No it's just...it's feels nice to have someone that can understand me." Erik said shyly. Bo looked at Erik with empathetic eyes.

"Let's just chill guys. I know both of you will find it!" Atticus said.

"You're right Atticus. Sorry for yelling Erik." Bo said.

"That's okay Bo. I know how you feel." Erik said.

"Ha! Look who it is! It's the songless freaks!" A penguin shouted.

Erik, Bo, and Atticus looked at where the voice came from. It came from a small group consisting of two male and two female chicks. The trio knew them from class; these chicks were at the top of the class along with Atticus. They're names were Byron, Lyre, Bree, and Christie. The penguin that shouted out that comment was Byron, who was thought to be the best male singer of the class. Byron had made fun of Erik before, because he thought Erik was a weak and saw him as a waste of space. They approached Erik and Bo.

"Leave us alone Byron." Erik said.

"What are you going to do about it if we don't? You can't sing after all and neither can your little friend here." Byron said.

"I can too sing!" Erik said.

"Really? Then why don't you?" Lyre intervened. Erik remained silent and looked away.

"Leave him alone!" Bo said as she positioned herself in front Erik.

"Oh look it's the other freak!" Christie said.

"Yeah it's the one that looks like a boy!" Bree said laughing. Christie joined her in her laughter.

"I am not a boy!" Bo shouted.

"Yeah you are just look at you!" Bree said.

"And how do you explain all those jump things you can do?" Christie said.

"All you can do is jump around and you're nowhere near as pretty as the other girls!" Lyre said.

Erik could see they were all ganging up on Bo right and even though he didn't like it he felt hopeless. Erik looked to Atticus, who seemed to be frozen in place. The four chicks kept throwing insult after insult at Bo. Erik knew Bo was a strong penguin, but every penguin had their breaking point. Suddenly Bo turned around to face Erik with watery eyes and a downcast look. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Haha look at that! Now she's crying." Christie pointed out.

"Maybe they're right Erik. I am an ugly freak!" Bo whimpered out quietly.

Erik had never seen Bo like this. He felt strange all of a sudden. Something suddenly snapped inside of him. He took Bo into his flippers.

"No you're not Bo. You are the prettiest penguin I've ever seen." Erik whispered. Bo looked up at him with shicked eyes. He then got in front of Bo with determined eyes.

"You're wrong." Erik said quietly.

"Huh?"

"I said you are wrong!" Erik shouted. The other four chicks were shocked at the volume of his voice.

"W-What are you talking about?" Byron asked.

"Bo is not a freak and she is not ugly either!" Erik shouted.

"She's a beautiful penguin and she is a way better singer than all of you!"

"Nu uh! She doesn't even have a song!" Christie said.

Erik was about to say something else, but he was stopped by Bo, who suddenly grabbed him from behind.

"It's okay Erik let's go. It's not worth it." Bo said.

"But Bo-"

"Erik please."

Erik and Bo started walking away. The other group was about to make some sort of advance, but they were stopped by Atticus.

"That's enough! You Leave my friends alone!" Atticus said as he stood in their way.

"Atticus what's up?" Byron said.

"Why are you even friends with those freaks?" Lyre asked.

"They are not freaks! And you better go!" Atticus shouted.

"Atticus move." Byron said.

"What are you going to do if I don't?" Atticus asked, while moving closer to them. Atticus was the biggest chick of their generation.

"Come on guys let's go!" Byron called. He knew they couldn't get past him. The group followed. Atticus started making his way towards Erik and Bo.

Erik and Bo were walking in silence; neither of them knew what to say to each other. Bo was wondering what came over Erik back there and Erik was still angry at those other chicks.

"Erik?" Bo called softly.

"Yeah..." Erik said.

"Did you...mean it?" Erik looked at Bo with a confused look.

"Mean what?"

"Did you mean what you said back there?" Bo asked with a small blush. Erik's eyes widened and realized what she was talking about.

"Uh well I mean-"

"Hey guys are you okay?" Atticus said as he caught up to them. Erik and Bo looked at Atticus.

"Yeah I guess we're okay right Bo?" Erik asked.

"Yeah we're fine. Thanks for keeping them away." Bo said.

"No problem! We gotta stick together!" Atticus proclaimed. Erik and Bo giggled at his antics.

"Atticus!" A voice called out.

"Daddy? What are you doin' here?"

"I came to get you! Your mother and I want to hear that heart song of yours and it's almost time to eat big guy." Seymour explained.

"But daddy can I please stay for a little while?" Atticus asked. Seymour wanted to let his son be with his friends, but there was nothing worse than an angry mother.

"I wish son, but we should really go home. Your mother really wants to see you, so say goodbye to Erik and Bo." Seymour said.

"Oh okay, I guess I understand. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Atticus said.

"Okay see ya Atticus." Bo said.

"Bye Atticus!" Erik said.

Seymour and Atticus started walking to their home and this left Erik and Bo alone. They were in silence yet again.

"Erik?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we'll ever find our songs?" Bo asked with uncertainty in her eyes.

"Of course we will Bo! When we find them we'll show them!" Erik said, while facing Bo with confident eyes.

"But how are we going to find them?"

"I don't know Bo. But when we do we'll prove them wrong!" Erik declared. Bo smiled and wiped the tears in her eyes. He always had a way of cheering her up.

"You got that right!" Bo said.

"Oh and Bo?"

"Yes?"

"Don't listen to them. You are an awesome penguin and I think they're just jealous." Erik whispered the last part, which made Bo laugh a bit.

"Yeah I'm pretty awesome aren't I?" Bo said, while twirling around. Erik smiled; that's the Bo he knew.

"Hey Erik I got something for you." Bo said.

"What is it?" Erik asked.

"Come here and I'll show you." Bo said playfully.

Erik walked over to where Bo was standing. Bo immediately pulled him into a hug, which he returned.

"Thanks for believing in me Erik." Bo said.

"You're the one who has believed in me all this time. You and Atticus have stood up for me all this time-"

"Yeah, but this time it was you who stood up for me. You are a really brave penguin." Bo said as she instinctively snuggled into Erik's neck. They stayed like that for a little while, until both penguins realized what they were doing and broke away with respective blushes.

"I-I'm sorry I-"

"Wait Bo I think I heard it!" Erik said ecstatically.

"Heard what?" Bo asked

"A song!" Erik shouted.

"Really?"

"Yeah! You try to hear something." Erik said. Bo took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Erik! You're right! I can hear it!I can hear it!" Bo said while jumping up and down. Erik joined her in jumping up and down.

"But I don't think it's done though." Bo said.

"Yeah I don't think mine is either." Erik said.

"So are we supposed to figure out the rest of the song?" Erik asked.

"I guess so." Bo answered

"Hey Bo I got an idea!"

"Well what is it?"

"How about we help each other with the songs?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well we sing each other the songs and we figure them out together! That way we figure out the songs faster." Erik explained.

"That's not a bad idea...But you go first." Bo said.

"Aww why do I have to go first?" Erik complained.

"Well it was your idea, so you should go first." Bo said with a smile.

"Fine, but you have to promise to sing right after me okay?" Erik said.

"I promise." Bo said with a giggle.

The day was still young and the two chicks began to sing to each other with the hope of figuring out their songs. The two friends immediately noticed they had their work cut out for them, since they only had a small portion of their songs to work with. Meanwhile this was happening Mrs. Viola, Mumble, and Gloria were talking about their chicks.

"So he couldn't find a heart song huh?" Mumble asked.

"I'm afraid not." Mrs. Viola answered. Mumble couldn't help, but feel responsible for this. Gloria knew what was going through Mumble's mind.

"Mumble it's not your fault! You found your heart song after all!" Gloria said.

"It's quite alright if he doesn't find it on his first try. Besides he wasn't the only one who didn't find a song." Mrs. Viola said.

"He wasn't? Who else couldn't find it?" Gloria asked.

"My own daughter Boadicea." Mrs. Viola said.

"Well it's okay! I'm sure both of them will find their heart songs, so there is no reason for us parents to worry." Gloria said trying to cheer both of them up.

"Every obstacle is an opportunity I always say!" Mrs. Viola said.

The three adults continued to discuss the topic, but soon noticed it was getting a bit late. They went down to the school are and started looking for their chicks. Chicks always stayed somewhere close to the school until they're parents came to take them home. Soon enough the three adult penguins stumbled on their chicks. Erik and Bo spent the majority of the time trying to figure out the rest of their respective songs, but to no avail. Since They only had a few words to work with, so they had no idea what to do. Erik and Bo were determined to find their heart songs though, so giving up was not an option. Mrs. Viola, Gloria, and Mumble found the two chicks on laying down on the floor laughing. When two chicks noticed their parents were there, they immediately stood up.

"What are you guys up to?" Gloria asked.

"Nothing." Erik and Bo said simultaneously.

"Where's Atticus? He's usually with you guys." Mumble asked.

"Oh his dad cam here and got him, because his mother wanted to hear his heart song." Bo said.

"Oh okay well have you guys found your songs?" Mumble asked. Gloria sent him a small glare and Mumble tensed a bit.

"We-" Erik began, but was cut off.

"Haven't found it yet." Bo finished. Erik gave her a questioning look and she winked back.

"You're not mad at us are you?" Bo asked.

"Heavens no! Every penguin has a song and I'm sure you little ones will find your heart songs. Every obstacle is an opportunity after all." Mrs. Viola said. Erik and Bo looked at each other in pure glee. After their goodbye's, both families went their respective ways. Despite everything that went wrong, Erik and Bo were able to leave with earnest smiles on their faces.

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**Well I had a blast writing this one, even though it was a struggle. There is still much more to come, so bear with me! By the way if you review this story tell me if you what you think about how the characters are developing in this story or tell who is your favorite character so far. ;) Sorry for the lack of music!  
**


	8. Preparing

**Well I'm back with another chapter! I'm sorry for not updating for so long, but no need to worry because I will not abandon any of these stories. Summer is a busy time for me, but I'm getting it done. So here it is! Read & Review :).**

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**Preparing**

According to the sun's position it was about noon in Emperor Land. Clouds were slowly coming in. School was in session; the class was currently practicing harmonies. Bo, Erik, and Atticus were in the back whispering amongst themselves though. The reason Erik and Bo weren't participating is that they found no reason to; it didn't feel right. As for Atticus well he says, "Harmonies? Those ain't for me!" Outside of the school, many penguins were preparing for the nation-wide party that was going to take place later on.

"All right everyone! Today we are going to do something very special." Mrs. Viola announced.

Everyone's attention shifted to Mrs. Viola.

"What are we gonna do?" Atticus asked.

"We, as a class, are going to perform in front of the colony today." Mrs. Viola said excitedly.

The class stayed silent; they didn't quite understand what Mrs. Viola was saying.

"Does that mean we get to go to one of the parties?" Atticus asked.

"Yes Atticus, that's exactly where we're going." Mrs. Viola said.

The class erupted in excitement. It was their first party and everyone was excited to participate.

"Yeah finally! Daddy tells me these parties are the best. This is gonna be awesome." Atticus said.

"Yeah this is going to be fun!" Bo said.

The whole class seemed excited about going on this little excursion, except for a certain blue-eyed penguin. Erik tensed up, when Mrs Viola said they were going to perform for the colony. He was very unsure if he could sing as well as everyone else in the class. He turned away from the class and looked up at the sky with distraught eyes. Then he felt a flipper tapping his shoulder.

"Erik are you okay?" a serene voice asked.

Erik looked over his shoulder to see who it was. It was Bo; she had immediately noticed Erik's reaction after Mrs. Viola's announcement. Bo wasn't surprised though, because even though Erik had a gifted voice he has never sung in front of the class. Every other chick has had a chance to sing except him. Erik only sings when he and Bo are trying to figure our there heart songs and they haven't made any progress in the week had practiced; Erik and Bo only knew the few words they had heard that day.

"Uhh Yeah." Erik said, while looking down at the snow.

"Erik I know you'll do great!"

"Bo I don't even know what to sing..."

"Me neither! That's part of it." Erik turned around to face her.

"We can sing whatever we want, so just sing what you feel like singing. That's what I'm doing." Bo said.

"What if I don't sing well?" Erik asked. Boadicea put her beak close to his face; Erik's immediate reaction was to blush.

"Your voice is amazing Erik. There's no way they won't like it." Bo whispered.

"Class settle down! We still have to decide who our leaders will be." Mrs. Viola said.

The class settled down and carefully watched Mrs. Viola for further instruction.

"To do this we will vote on a male and a female lead." Mrs. Viola explained.

Voting for the male lead progressed in a very predictable manner. Byron was unanimously elected as the male lead, because he was thought to be the best singer and dancer in the class. The female lead was a different story.

"Okay who would like to be the female lead?" Mrs. Viola asked.

Bo immediately raised her flipper, hoping to get chosen. She wasn't the only one though; Christie also raised her flipper. In a surprising unanimous decision made by the class, Bo got the lead. Needless to say Christie was very upset.

"Are you serious! She's nothing, but a freak!" Christie shouted.

"Young lady you will not speak like that about anyone in this class!" Mrs. Viola sternly scolded.

Christie cringed and stayed quiet. She was silently fuming.

"Boadicea and Byron, you two have to decide what songs you are going to sing beforehand since you two are going to lead." Mrs. Viola said.

Bo took a glance at Byron, who was on the other side of the class; Byron quickly looked away. Erik didn't know how to feel about this, but he had bad feeling about Byron. Atticus was still fuming over not getting the lead.

"All right class we will be leaving shortly, so start preparing. Boadicea and Byron come with me please." Mrs. Viola said.

Erik shot Bo a worried glance as she made her way down to her mother; he had a bad feeling about this. Bo didn't notice Erik and went off with Byron and Mrs. Viola. They walked outside the school crevice and suddenly Mrs. Viola stopped and turned around.

"Alright since you two are going to lead the rest of the class, you have to set the rhythm alright?" Mrs. Viola explained.

The two chicks gave their teacher blank stares. Bo noticed Byron kept stealing glances at her. Bo stepped forward and tilted her head sideways.

"How do we do that?" Bo asked.

"Well Boadicea you will start to sing and dance your song first and the girls in the class will back you up. Byron will then do the same with the boys. Then you two will meet in the middle and start singing and dancing and the rest of the class will follow."

"Wait with each other?" Bo asked.

"Well yes I would imagine so." Mrs. Viola answered.

"Bu-" Bo tried to protest.

"T-That sounds like a good idea." Byron said.

Bo glared at Byron and he quickly looked away. Bo was about to say something to her mother, but she was cut off.

"Okay then it's settled." Bo felt helpless.

Meanwhile the class was currently just talking about the upcoming party and what they were going to do. The clouds were slowly covering the sky. Atticus was ranting about how he should have won the lead instead of Byron, but Erik wasn't listening to him. His mind was on Bo.

"Atticus?" Erik called.

"Huh?" Atticus said.

"What do you think Bo's doing?" Erik asked in a monotone voice.

"Uhhh. Probably singing with Byron and Mrs. Viola." Atticus answered.

Erik shifted his feet uncomfortably. He didn't like the idea of them singing together.

"What? Why?" Erik asked in a soft yet bewildered tone.

"Well they're the leads, so they have to you know...lead us." Atticus said sheepishly.

"So that means they have to sing together?" Erik asked, while trying to clarify Atticus' answer.

"Yeah probably. Why?" Atticus asked.

"It's just...Byron is so..." Erik couldn't really answer why he was so worried.

"Yeah I know. He is a nasty guy, but Bo will be fine. Now cheer up we're about to go to our first party! We're going to show everyone that we're the best there will ever be!." Atticus said, while puffing out his chest.

Atticus' antics never seemed to fail at making Erik laugh. Despite this little joyous moment, Erik still held an apprehensive feeling deep in his chest.

"There's Bo right now." Atticus said, while pointing his flipper at her.

Mrs. Viola, Bo, and Byron were now making their way back into the school. Erik and Atticus waved at Bo, trying to get her attention, but she didn't respond. Bo was not a happy chick right now. She was furious, because she had to sing and, possibly, dance with Byron!

Okay class! Let's get going everyone!" Mrs. Viola said.

The class started to leave the small crevice they called school row by row. In an unorganized type of formation, the chicks started walking towards the colony. Erik and Atticus were trying to find Bo in the group of chicks. Erik spotted her at the very front with Mrs. Viola and Byron. Mrs. Viola was walking in between the two leads. Erik tapped on Atticus' shoulder and they started to barrel through the other chicks to get to the front. When they finally got there, Atticus tapped on her left shoulder and stood to the right of her with Erik.

"Hey Bo!" Erik said.

"What's up?" Atticus greeted.

"Oh *giggle* hey guys." Bo said softly as she turned to right.

There was silence after that. Erik and Atticus were starting to worry; Bo had never been so...distant.

"Bo are you okay?" Erik asked.

"I guess..."

Erik and Atticus weren't buying her act. Erik grabbed her flipper and started dragging her to the back of the crowd. Bo was surprised, but she couldn't really do anything. Once they were behind the whole class Erik let go of Bo. The trio started walking together.

"What was all that about?" Bo asked.

"We're worried Bo." Erik answered.

"Yeah you've been actin' up."

Erik and Atticus were looking at her with worried gazes. Bo sighed.

"It's just I'm kind of upset."

"Why?"

"I have to sing and, probably, dance with Byron."

"That stinks!" Atticus said.

"I just don't know if I want to. I mean he sings really well and dances well too, but I want to..."

"Never-mind."

"Well, all you can do now is try to have fun with it." Atticus said.

"Yeah I guess you're right."

Both chicks noticed the lack of Erik's voice in the conversation.

"Erik what do you think about this?"

"Huh?"

"About Bo and Byron."

Erik cringed.

"I-"

"Bo where are you?" A male voice called out from the crowd.

Bo didn't answer, because she clearly recognized who the voice belonged to. Byron then suddenly appeared out of the crowd and found the trio in the very back. He stared at Erik and Atticus for a moment and then approached Bo.

"Bo we have to go to the front." Byron firmly said.

"Why?" Bo asked.

"Because Mrs. Viola said so."

Bo hesitated to go with Byron. Bo's noticed how Byron behaves around and she doesn't feel comfortable around him. She felt a flipper grabbing hers; it was Erik's. Erik saw Bo's hesitation and he couldn't help, but comfort her. Bo looked at Erik and immediately felt relaxed. Byron saw this, so he grabbed Bo's other flipper and pulled her away from Erik.

"Hey what do you think you're doing?" Bo said as she pushed Byron away.

"We're almost at the party and Mrs. Viola wants us next to her." Byron explained.

"Fine." Bo said.

Bo looked back at Erik and Atticus one more time before disappearing into the crowd. Byron shot Erik a glare and then went after her. Erik's previous apprehension kept growing stranger and stronger as time went by. Erik and Atticus heard a soft rumbling sound behind them, so they stopped and turned around to see where the sound came from. They saw gray clouds in the sky, which seemed to be stuck to the blue surface of the sky. The two chicks turned back around to the sound of Mrs Viola's voice. The class had stopped inf ront of a huge and dense crowd of penguins. Erik and Atticus quickly caught up.

"All right everyone we have arrived! Remember these events are meant for fun. Let's go out there and show them what we got." Mrs. Viola said.

The whole class erupted in cheers. Mrs. Viola was making a path for the chicks to follow her through. The party hadn't started quite yet, but would soon get underway. Mrs. Viola stopped at a little clearing, which was extremely close to the middle of the colony. It was a comfortable place for the whole class. There was plenty of space for all of them. The ice was lightly coated with water to make a small and very shallow pond.

"We're here class, so all girls go with Bo and all boys go with Byron. They're going to tell the first song you will be singing and dancing to." Mrs. Viola explained.

The class nodded and each gender did as they were told. Bo and Byron informed their respective groups of the songs they were singing. When Erik heard the song Byron had picked, he became upset. He didn't know why he was so upset, but just didn't like the song Byron picked to sing. As the party prepared to start, the gray clouds started moving faster towards the Emperor Land.

**Gloria:** _5,4,5,4,3,2_  
_ Penguins of the world unite,_  
_ Strength in numbers, we can get it right,_  
_ One time!_

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**Uh Oh! What might the party have in store for the little trio? ^_^**

**I will be updating way more now, but realize this fan-fiction will not be short in anyway. I expect it to take about 20 chapters or even more! Next chapter will be a long and music packed chapter; I'll write it as soon as possible. ;) Remember to read & review!  
**


	9. The Party

**Finally! Here's a new chapter :).  
**

**Whoever is the guest that constantly reviews this story, I'm going to have to ask you to stop. It's great that you really like this story and everything, but please do not spam reviews. I mean I love that you are a fan, but please review once or even twice per chapter and make the reviews as long as you want. If you want to talk to me then make an account and you can message me. I would really appreciate it if you stop, because if you don't I'm going to have to block anonymous reviews and I don't want that. I still love all of you ^_^ Enjoy the story :).  
**

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**The Party**

The skies were partly cloudy and atmosphere was electrifying. The colony was full adult penguins. Their marine blue feathers and gold streaks stood out from the white snow in which they were singing on. There was dead silence; everyone was anxiously waiting for the party to start. Gloria's melodious voice made its way to every penguin in the nation and everyone knew the party was officially underway.

**Gloria:**_ 5,4,5,4,3,2_  
_Penguins of the world unite,_  
_Strength in numbers, we can get it right,_  
_One time!_

Gloria and a group of adult penguins came down a slope. The other penguins were dancing behind Gloria, while she sang the first lines. Everyone soon got into the rhythm of the song and started dancing to the beat.

**Everyone:**_ We are a part of the rhythm nation_

**Gloria:**_ With Music by my side,_  
_To break the other line,_  
_Let's work together to improve our way of life, (penguins of the world)_  
_This is the test,_  
_No struggle, no progress,_  
_Lend a feather,_  
_Help a brother do his best,_

Gloria moved in front of the group of adult penguins who were backing her up and started singing the second verse of the song. She started to slowly pull away from her back up dancers and started making her way to a deep blue ice platform that had no snow covering it. The backup dancers lagged behind Gloria as they followed her to the main stage.

**Everyone:**_ Let's dance, let's shout, shake your body down to the ground  
Let's dance, let's shout, shake your body down to the ground_

**Mumble:**_ Let's dance, let's shout! _

**Everyone:**_ MUMBLE!_

**Mumble:**_ Sorry_

Mumble slid down to a gentle stop at a small hill right above where the chicks were getting to perform. He stopped and started tap dancing there. And, as always, Mumble couldn't resist, but to sing to his mate's voice. Usually this would have been okay since he has learned to control his voice at a moderate level of volume, but this time he went all out and his voice went out of control. His scratchy voice stopped the rhythm of the song. Mumble nonchalantly apologized and started making his way towards his mate.

**Bo:** _Ooooooh Yeaaaaah!_

Bo restored the rhythm to the party with her melodious voice. It sounded somewhat close to what Gloria's voice sounded like when she was a chick, but it also had kind of force to it that clearly distinguished her voice from any other penguin's voice. Erik always admired her voice and when he heard it, he turned to see Bo on the opposite side of the puddle. The chicks were separated by gender; Byron and the male chicks were on one side, while Bo and the female chicks were on the other side. Bo and Byron were both standing in front of their respective groups to signify their leadership._ (Down - Jay Sean)_

**Byron:**_ Baby are you down?  
Down, down, down, down, down  
_**Byron & Male chicks:**_ Doooown! Doooown!  
Even if the sky is fallin' down  
Doooown! doooown! (oh)_

Byron started his song, while the male chicks behind him tapped the rhythm of his song. After Byron sang his line, the male backup singers joined him and the other chicks backed him up choreographically. With every letter that came out of Byron's beak, he took one step closer to Bo. Erik was in the very back of the group watching Byron perform; he didn't want any part of this, so he just went to the back and stayed quiet like he always did in class. He couldn't help, but feel stressed as he watched Byron sing to Bo. Erik looked away in hopes of finding some joy in this party.

**Byron:**_ You already know_  
_Tonight is the night to let it go_  
_Put on a show (show, show)_  
_I wanna see how you lose control_  
_So leave it behind, cause we have a night to get away (away, away)_  
_So come on and fly with me_  
_As we make our great escape (escape, escape)_

Byron took this moment to sing alone. He pulled ahead of his group and met Bo in the middle. He started to sing to her. Byron started circling around Bo, while facing her; he was making sure she knew this song was for her. Bo was oblivious to Byron's song so far, but she had to admit he had a great voice. Byron retraced his steps and went back to his previous place in front of his group. Bo looked at the girls and signaled them that it's time to perform. Bo, Bree, and Christie approached the middle; they were all covered in snow. They suddenly shook it off and attracted everyone's attention including Byron's.

**Bo, Christie, and Bree:**_ We're bringing fluffy back! (yeah)_  
_Them other penguins don't know how to act (yeah)_  
**Atticus:**_ Kick it to the chorus!_  
**Female chicks:**_ (who's your fluffy uh!)_  
**Bo:**_ Shake ya tail!_  
**Female chicks:**_ Who's your fluffy uuuhhh_  
**Bo:**_ Watch ya self!_  
**Female chicks:**_ Who's your fluffy uuuhhh_

With their bold display of artistic choreography, the three chicks took the stage and started to sing. After their first line, Atticus came in from the sidelines did his usual thing. Even though it wasn't what he wanted, it was better to be in the show than completely out of it. All the female chicks immediately started singing and dancing in sync. Erik found Bo's performance to be amazing. Even though it was a short lived performance, it showed how much of a fighter Bo was. Her daring and upbeat personality was one of the things Erik liked about her. All the female chicks went back to their side leaving Bo alone in the middle. Bo stood there with a defiant smile on her beak. Byron smiled and made his way to where Bo was. The clouds were now over them, casting a shadow over where the chicks were performing.

**Byron & Male chicks:**_ So baby don't worry_  
_You are my only_  
_You won't be lonely_  
**Bo & Female chicks: **_Even if the sky is falling down_  
_You'll be my only_  
_No need to worry_  
**Both groups:**_ Baby are you down?_  
_Down, down, down, down, down_  
**Bo & Byron:**_ Doooown! Doooown!_  
**Both groups:**_ Baby are you down?_  
_Down, down, down, down, down_  
**Bo & Byron:**_ Doooown! Doooown!_  
**Bo & Byron:**_ Even if the sky is falling down_

As he was walking up to meet Bo, Byron flashed a smile at her. He then started singing again, while his group backed him up in the background. This time Byron actually started to dance while he sang and every gesture he made was meant for Bo. Even though Bo knows that Byron is top of the class for singing and dancing, she couldn't help but be impressed. Performing with Byron was very different from watching him from afar. Bo just couldn't help herself and she joined in. She interrupted Byron and started singing the song. The chicks in both groups started making their way to where their leaders were singing, but stopped a few feet away from their respective leaders. Some chicks started going around where Bo and Byron were singing and crossing over to the other group to meet up with their friends. Soon enough both groups joined to form one group and everyone was singing and dancing with each other. Bo & Byron were surrounded by the circle that their classmates had created around them. Byron took this chance to grabbed Bo's flipper and pull her to him. Bo was surprised at first, but she relaxed and went with it.

As the song was winding down, Bo and Byron's dance became slower. All the chicks were having a great time. Byron got an idea on how to finish this song. He suddenly pulled Bo to him and, as he sang the last line of the song, spun her around to let her fall into other flipper. Bo had no idea what happened and suddenly she found herself looking up into Byron's brown eyes. She found she couldn't break the stare. Even though Bo initially didn't like Byron, this was totally different side of him. It felt great to sing and dance with another penguin.

**Gloria:**_ Oh, oh, oh, oh!_  
**Female back-up:**_ Ain't nobody  
_**Gloria:**_ ain't no body!_  
**Female back-up:**_ Loves me better  
_**Gloria:**_ Loves me better_  
**Female back-up:**_ Makes me happy  
_**Gloria:**_ Makes me feel that way!_  
**Female back-up:**_ Makes me feel this way_  
_Ain't no body  
_**Gloria:**_ Ain't no body_  
**Female back-up:**_ Loves me better  
_**Gloria:**_ Better than you!_  
_Nobody's better than you_

Erik was having a hard time watching due to the impenetrable fortress of chicks in front of him. He then felt something drip on his head and he looked up to see that he was under some sort of icy platform; he immediately got an idea. Erik went to look for a way to climb up and get a better view and he found a small snowy slope. When Erik peeked above the small hill he saw his parents start to dance together; he admired them for a few seconds then got on top of the icy platform he had just been under. His plan worked! He now had a perfect view of Bo and Byron, but is some sense he wished he didn't have such a view. Erik saw Bo and Byron dancing in the middle the crowd of chicks. He couldn't help, but let a few tears escape his blue eyes as the rage built up inside of him.

**Gloria:**_ Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.  
_**Everyone:**_ Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.  
_**Gloria:**_ bity bity boom, woah. (raspberry sound)  
_**Female back-up:**_ bity bity boom, woah. (raspberry sound)  
_**Gloria:**_ zippido, zippido, da, huh!  
_**Female back-up:**_ zippido, zippido, da, huh!  
_**Gloria:**_ boom bang, boom bang bang.  
_**Everyone:**_ boom bang, boom bang bang.  
boom bang, boom bang bang.  
boom bang, boom bang bang.  
We are a part of the rhythm nation_

Mumble and Gloria were dancing in perfect sync, showing how strong their bond with each other is. Every step and every movement they made were conducted together. The adult penguins surrounding them were watching them and dancing along, after all Mumble is the best dancer while Gloria is the best singer in the nation.

**Everyone:**_ Do your thing!  
_**Gloria:**_ Make my body sing!_  
**Everyone:**_ We are the part of the rhythm nation_  
**Gloria:**_ Chick-a do your thing  
do your thing_  
_do your thing!_

Mumble and Gloria were still entranced in the passion of their own dance. Suddenly both parents stopped dancing and singing. They noticed Erik was standing alone just looking down at the party.

"Mumble..." Gloria mumbled. She looked at Mumble with worry eyes.

"I know. Let me talk to him." Mumble said. He gave Gloria a reassuring look before walking towards Erik, who was relatively close to them. Mumble made his way towards his son, who didn't seem to notice him; he seemed focused on something else. Mumble positioned himself next to his son and one thing Mumble noticed was the expression on Erik's face. It was a very familiar expression to him, especially during his childhood, and it broke his heart to see Erik feels so hopeless. "Hey little guy, are you okay?" Mumble asked his son.

"Pa? Pa!" Erik said, when realized who it was. He immediately hugged his father's leg. "Yeah I'm okay, I guess." Erik said answering his father's question. Erik went back to looking at Bo, who was still resting on Byron's flipper and staring into his eyes. Even though the song was over, the two chicks were still stuck in that position.

"Why aren't you down there?" Mumble asked.

"I don't know..." Erik said.

"Erik you know you can tell me anything right?"

"Yeah..." Erik said dejectedly. His main focus was still on Bo and Byron. Erik suddenly felt something inside of him, something that wanted to come out. He started hearing words and music that seemed to match the words.

"Pa?" Erik said with a questioning tone and glance. Even though Erik had the music he didn't know what to do with it.

"Yeah?" Mumble answered.

"I think I got a song inside of me." Erik said.

"That's great Erik!" Mumble said. He was truly happy for his son. Ever since Mumble found out that Erik didn't find his heart-song he had been worried that it was an inherited trait of some sort.

"But what do I do with it?" Erik asked.

"Well Erik you have to sing it." Mumble answered.

"But what if they laugh at me?" Erik asked. He was really worried about what everyone would think of him.

"Erik no one's gonna laugh at you. I promise, now come on. Show them what you're made of champ." Mumble reassured.

"Okay pa!" Erik said excitedly. Having his dad's support really meant a lot to him. (Cascada - Every-time we touch)

**Erik:**_ I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me  
Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why  
Without you it's hard to survive_

Erik started making his way down the same way he came up. He started to sing with a low soft voice that only some chicks could hear. His voice progressively made it's way to every chick and soon enough everyone could hear Erik's voice. Everything stopped and Erik had everyone's attention. Erik started walking towards the impenetrable circle that all the chicks had made around Bo and Byron. As he made his way towards it, the chicks moved out of his way and soon there was a clear path to where Bo and Byron were standing. Erik stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Bo. Something came over Erik at that moment and he started to dance to his song. Mumble did keep his promise to Erik and introduced him to dancing, but they haven't spent as much on it as they would have liked. One thing Mumble did show Erik is how to feel the rhythm. Onlookers could not believe their eyes and even Erik surprised. Erik felt all that pent up anger inside of him begin to dissipate as he sang and danced, but he still felt hurt.

Bo just couldn't believe what she was seeing; she didn't expect Erik to come out and sing to everyone like this. She knew Erik very well and this was very unlike him. The only time he actually sang was with her, when they were trying to figure out their heart-songs. Nonetheless she was amazed; everything was just amazing in her eyes. There was something that bothered her though, his voice sounded...sad or hurt; She couldn't quite figure it out. Throughout the day clouds have covered a good part of the Emperor Land, but now rays of sunshine were starting to make it through.

**Erik:**_ 'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling_  
_And everytime we kiss, I swear I could fly_  
_Can't you feel my heart beat fast?_  
_I want this to last_  
_I need you by my side_

Everyone was amazed at what this shy little penguin was doing, but what came next would have them slack jawed. All of a sudden Erik's started tapping a fast rhythm, while singing his song. His feet were tapping at a very rapid pace and, along with his feet, his voice suddenly got louder and clearer. Erik saw the shocked faces on the chicks around an he smiled. He began to tap his way to where Bo and Byron were, but he was getting increasingly tired from all this and it was showing. Thankfully his song had everyone dancing and some male chicks positioned themselves behind him and started to tap his song. Erik then focused on the actual choreography instead of tapping the rhythm. Erik felt amazing! He was just letting everything flow.

**_Erik:_**_ Cause everytime we touch, I feel the static_  
_And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky_  
_Can't you hear my heart beat so?_  
_I can't let you go_  
_I want you in my life_

Erik kept inching closer and closer to where Bo was standing and, as he was doing so, more chicks started joining him in the song; His song did not just attract male chicks to join in, but it also appealed to the female chicks. The female chicks started singing with Erik in a low tone as to not overshadow their voice even though that didn't seem possible. Erik stopped in front of Bo and Byron for couple of seconds then proceeded to move in between them. He took a glance at Bo and kept moving. The chicks that were following stayed back where Bo and Byron were standing. Erik waddled a couple of feet and turned around to face the whole class. Bo was looking at him with eyes that held mixed feelings. She felt happy and excited, because the song was beautiful; at the same time though, she felt sad because she knew Erik's voice pretty well and this voice sounded hurt in some way. Nonetheless, Bo found that she couldn't take her eyes of Erik. Erik slowed the rhythm of the song down. The chicks quickly noticed the change in rhythm and adapted accordingly. Even though Erik was facing his whole class, only a pair of brown eyes stood out to him. Bo was the only chick not participating; She had separated herself from the class as well. Erik returned her gaze, while he was singing the last few lines; He instinctively made a move towards her. Bo backed away from Erik and turned in the other direction, so that she wouldn't be facing him. Erik saw this and immediately stopped singing; He looked down, so nobody could see the tears that were threatening to spill. He turned away in anger and with more passion than before he looked to the sky and sang the last line. He held for what seemed like an eternity.

Bo didn't know what happened. When Erik got close to her, her heart started beating very fast and she felt kind of scared. At the same time though, she wanted to join him and help with the song, but she just couldn't. Bo cringed when she heard Erik sing the last line; She didn't cringe because of his voice, she cringed because Erik sounded more hurt than before. Bo tried to grasp her chest with her flipper; Her heart was hurting. Bo heard footsteps coming towards her, so she looked over her shoulder to see who it was. "What do you want?"

"Are you okay?" Byron asked.

"Yeah why wouldn't I be?" Bo quickly answered.

"Because you ran away from the party." Byron said. He was slowly getting closer to Bo.

There was a tense moment of silence.

"I'm fine." Bo said.

"You know Bo..." Byron said with a hesitating pause. He was very nervous and seemed a bit jittery. He was now right next to Bo. Byron composed himself and decided to finish what he was in the process of saying. "I'm always here if you need me." Byron said in a cool, but sweet voice.

"Wha-" Bo didn't get to finish her sentence as she felt herself being turned around and pulled. Bo felt her body being pressed against Byron's in a hug. Her immediate reaction was to break the hug, but at that moment she really needed a hug plus she kind of liked Byron. Bo returned his gesture by putting her flippers around him.

Erik wiped away his tears quickly and turned to the class of chicks; He started a fast rhythm again and the chicks followed suit. Erik then heard a familiar tapping sound. He looked over at where his father and, as it turns out, he was tapping his song. Erik saw his mother join in and eventually they got the whole nation dancing and tapping to his song; the rhythm was very infectious. Seeing that lifted his mood considerably, but then he looked back. Tears filled his eyes and rage filled his heart. He didn't know why he felt this way, but he did know that he wanted to sing now more than ever. Erik tapped and slid his way past his classmates and went up to the spot where he started singing his song. The chicks stayed below, but their attention was still focused around Erik.

**Erik:**_ Your light is my castle, your heart is my sky_  
_They wipe away tears that I cry_

Erik started off with a more powerful voice than last time; He was now singing and dancing with even more passion than before. With his feelings driving him, his voice really embodied the sea of feelings that were washing over him at this moment. Just like his tears, though, his feelings went unnoticed by everyone else since they were just enjoying the party.

**Erik:**_ The good and the bad times, we've been through them all_  
_You make me rise when I fall_

Mumble and Gloria were dancing right behind Erik. Watching him be so brave and perform so well filled their hearts with pride. However, their pride quickly turned into worry and despair as they saw Erik fall down the small cliff in front of them.

Erik was having a blast! Even though he still felt sad, this song was really helping him cope with this feeling; the most frustrating thing ,though, is that he doesn't know why he feels this way. Erik was having so much fun he started spinning and soon it got out of control. Erik became so entranced in his song that he didn't notice he was on higher ground, so he fell and slid down the slope of the cliff right as he was singing the last line. The slope of the icy cliff pro-pulsed Erik through the ice at a high velocity. There was a similar cliff on the other side of small area the chicks had and Erik was going so fast that he slid up the slope of the cliff and then came down head first into thin layer of ice, which broke on impact. Erik was upside down with his head stuck below the ice and he was so startled that he couldn't help, but empty his bowels right in front of his whole class. The class burst into laughter.

Bo and Byron were not far from Erik when this happened. Bo noticed the party suddenly stopped and she heard gasps left and right. She opened her eyes and looked over Byron's shoulder only to see Erik falling; Bo immediately broke contact with Byron and waddled as fast she could towards Erik. "Erik!" she screamed. Bo got there very fast but it was too late, Erik was sliding too fast and now his head was stuck in the ice. "It's not funny!" Bo screamed at everyone who was laughing. Byron was right behind her laughing at Erik's expense, until Bo glared at him.

"Can you whizz on two and finish with a headstand? I don't think so!" Atticus said.

Mumble and Gloria immediately rushed to Erik's help. Gloria got there first and pulled Erik's head out of the ice. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Gloria asked in worried tone.

Erik didn't answer Gloria; He began to shake uncontrollably. Apart from the embarrassment Erik was going through, he was also very cold. Erik was frantically looking around for any place he could hide in, but he was having a hard time finding such a place; He started to shakily back away from everyone in front of him, but he bumped into someone. Erik turned around to see that it was his father, the one who had encouraged him to sing his song.

"Oh gosh. That was...wow." Mumble said. He didn't mean for the compliment to come out so broken, but it was all he could really say. Erik's performance really took him by surprise and that was all he could get out at the moment. Mumble didn't realize Erik was taking his words the words the wrong way, so with a confused expression, Mumble watched Erik turn away from him and run into a small den under the ice.

"Erik I'm really sorry." Mumble and Gloria got as close as they could, but neither of them could fit in the small crevice where Erik was.

"C'mon champ. You were awesome." Mumble honestly said. Erik just thought his father was saying that to make him feel better.

"You know Erik, when I was your age I got laughed a lot. They thought I was weird-" Mumble said.

"Mumble!" Gloria said. She didn't like when Mumble talked bad about himself and that wasn't helping Erik feel any better.

"I-I mean different, you know in a cool way." Mumble corrected himself.

"Mumble." Gloria said in warning tone.

"I- Like you're cool. I was uncool." Mumble was quickly stumbling over his own words.

"Woah! Okay." Gloria said. She decided to stop Mumble there since she knew that when her husband got himself in a problem he would not stop until he fixes it. "You know Erik, when you daddy's in a deep hole he's got to learn to stop digging." Gloria emphasized.

"Yeah..." Mumble disdainfully said. He looked shook his head in disappointment at himself.

"Mumble!" Ramon said, as he came out of nowhere. "A little help here?" Ramon asked.

"We would never have an egg with you." The group of female penguins said. In comparison to Ramon, these penguins were very tall.

"Give me one good reason." Ramon said.

"You're too short."

"And you're gross."

"Is that guy bothering you?"

"No. He's nobody"

Ramon sighed and looked down at the puddle beneath him.

**Ramon:**_ I want to know what love is._

Ramon threw his flippers in the air and started singing a song with a sad and disappointed voice. "Mumble." Ramon said weakly.

"Amigo..." Mumble sighed.

Ramon weakly walked around and let gravity drag him. He eventually fell in the crevice Erik was hiding in.

**Ramon:**_ I want you to show me._

Ramon dunked his head under the water of the small puddle that was in the small crevice. He kept singing; while his head was under water so only a muffled sound was heard.

"Ramon get out of there." Gloria said.

"Yeah that's Erik's hub!" Atticus said in an authoritative voice.

"Ramon!" Mumble said, seeing that Ramon wasn't responding.

"What!?"

"We're having a private conversation with little Erik." Gloria said.

Ramon now realized that he had company in this little crevice. "So..you too are mocked and misunderstood."

"Amigo please." Mumble pleaded.

"Don't worry I can fix it." Ramon said

"No no no no." Mumble said repeatedly.

"Let me tell something to ju. What's a best friend for if he can't bring a daddy and his boy together?" Ramon said.

"Uhh." Mumble didn't have much of a response.

Ramon turned his attention to the fluffy chick in front of him; He blew some air into Erik's face in playful manner. "Where are ju?" Ramon asked and blew a few more times. "Hello? Hello? Hello?" Ramon asked, while blowing bursts of air into the chick's face. Finally Erik reacted and laughed a bit. "There ju are." Ramon said, when he noticed Erik let down his guard. "You know fluffito, the truth that for wild maverick outcasts like us, who cannot be tamed." Ramon said and then stopped for a bit. "This place sucks!" Ramon suddenly shouted.

"Ramon you're being ridiculous!" Mumble said.

"Not anymore, I'm going back home to Adelie Land." Ramon said. He then started walking away in the direction of said destination, while singing a little song about Adelie Land.

Erik stared as Ramon walked off to go to Adelie Land. He realized that there were other placed where he could go; He didn't have to stay here, where he didn't belong. Erik started thinking of how he could get out of Emperor Land without anybody noticing.

"Erik. Knock knock. Hello" Mumble's efforts were in vain as Erik didn't respond.

"Honey I think he needs to be alone right now." Gloria said.

"We can't leave him all by himself in a hole." Mumble replied.

"We got his back sir." Bo said with full confidence; She was determined to help Erik with whatever was bothering him. Bo then jumped into the crevice beneath the ice.

"Yeah true that." Atticus said. He had a bit of trouble getting in though, but he slipped through.

"There you go, let the little hoppers work it out."

"All right." Mrs. Viola said.

"Okay, come on. All right. Step away." Gloria told all on-lookers.

"Nothing to see here." Mrs. Viola said.

Erik was still looking in the direction Ramon went and thought about following him, but now he had his two friends with him. He looked at Bo, who looked at him with worry, and then he looked at Atticus, who just smiled back. "I'm going to follow Uncle Ramon." Erik simply said.

"What?" Atticus asked.

"Erik what's bothering you?" Bo asked.

"Nothing I'm fine." Erik weakly said.

"You didn't sound fine out there." Bo pointed out.

"Wait, why are you going to run away from here?" Atticus asked.

"Because I don't belong here." Erik solemnly said and with that he got up and started heading towards Adelie Land.

"Well I guess we have no choice..." Bo said.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Atticus said. Both chicks got up and quickly caught up to Erik's pace. Erik stopped and looked at both of them with a confused expression. Atticus and Bo had grins on their beaks.

"Wha-" Erik couldn't even finish one word.

"We're coming with you." Bo said.

"But why?" Erik asked.

"Because we're your friends and we got to stick together." Atticus declared.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get going." Bo said.

The trio began to move and soon enough they were at the border of the Emperor Land. Erik stopped and turned around to take a last look at Emperor Land. Bo turned back for Erik and saw that he was just taking a last look. "Erik are you okay?" Bo asked.

"Yeah..." Erik said without paying much attention.

"What happened today? You know in the party." Bo asked.

"What do you mean?" Erik questioned.

"Erik I know you. It's not like you to just sing out the blue like that. And your voice was-" Bo said.

"Terrible?" Erik finished for her in disdainful voice.

"No! Of course not! Your voice is amazing Erik, but I've just never heard your voice sound so sad." Bo asserted.

"Oh..." Erik said, without having much else to say.

"Bo I-" Erik was once again cut off.

"Hey why are you guys so slow? I'm gonna beat you there!" Atticus shouted. Erik and Bo turned around to see that Atticus was way ahead of them.

"Come on Erik! We have to catch up." Bo said, while giggling.

Erik looked back one more time and suddenly his family came to mind. He didn't think about them too much, because he felt himself being dragged by the flipper. He looked to see who was dragging him and it was Bo who was dragging him.

"Come on! We can't let him win!" Bo giggled out.

Erik got a grip and started to keep up with Bo, but she was too fast and soon enough he was being dragged again. After being told by Erik, Bo stopped and gave Erik a giggle filled apology, in which Erik himself was giggling. Even they stopped and started walking at a pace they both found comfortable, Bo was still holding Erik's flipper. This went unnoticed by both of them until they finally caught up with Atticus and then the trio continued to follow Ramon.

* * *

**There it is! Who know what's gonna happen next. If you enjoyed the story remember to review!**

**Whoever is the guest, I don't mean to offend you or anything so please don't take it the wrong way. I still want you to review, but just make one or two long and serious reviews instead of 100 of them :).  
**

**Until next time guys! ;).  
**


	10. The Escape

**Well here's a kind of short chapter. It's meant to fill in more of the actual plot of the story, so not a lot of music :(. The next few chapters are in the works and everyone please be patient with me. College is just a lot of work, so just bear with me. Mark my words though, I will finish this story.**

* * *

**The Escape  
**

In Emperor Land, no one had any idea that Bo, Erik and Atticus had escaped to follow Ramon. Seymour carried a big fish in his mouth for his son. "Hey Atticus! Snack time." He said with a mouth full of fish. He received no answer.

"I think they're all snuggled up. All snoozy" Mrs. Viola said.

Mumble had his doubts though. He's had this bad sinking feeling all day and he couldn't bu think that something had happened to the chicks. He approached the crevice and bent down, so his head could go in the crevice to see if small trio of chicks were okay. To Mumble' surprise, he didn't see anything. "They're not here." Mumble said with a shocked expression.

As soon as he said that, all of the parents started searching all over Emperor land to see if they could find them. If the chicks were still in Emperor Land, which they're not, they were not responding to their parents. Mumble then had a small flashback to his childhood; he remembered when he went off to Adelie Land. Even though it was partly, because he was left stranded in that piece of ice he could have easily gone back home but he didn't. He didn't, because he felt as if he didn't belong there since everyone was always laughing at him. He had a hunch as to where the chicks went.

**- Meanwhile -**

The three fluffy chicks were fairly far from Emperor Land, as they went on further into the seemingly endless white. Erik, Bo, and Atticus were pretty far from Emperor Land at this point. The three of them had stopped racing when they all got tired, well at least until Erik and Atticus got tired, because Bo wanted to keep going. Erik and Atticus were now following closely behind Bo as she led the way. They were all lost in their own respective thoughts.

Bo was still bothered by whatever was bothering Erik; She had a feeling it had something to do with her, but she couldn't figure out what. Bo didn't think she has done anything wrong; She's always liked Erik a lot, so there seemed to be no reason for him to be mad at her or anything. Bo was actually scared that Erik would stop being her friend and she would do anything to keep that from happening. Another thing she was thinking about was Byron. It's as if all of a sudden he became a completely different penguin, but the question was why. All these provoking thoughts were keeping Bo occupied at the moment.

Erik was just reflecting on what happened at the party. He thought that since everyone was laughing at him it must be, because he performed that badly. Erik knew they going to laugh at him, but his father had told him otherwise. He felt like just falling down in the snow and cry his eyes out; If he was no good at singing or dancing then what was he good at! What bothered him the most though was the times he saw Bo and Byron together. It would burn inside whenever he would think about them being together in any sort of way. He didn't know why, but he didn't like it when Byron got close to Bo; He felt he was a bad influence on her. Erik kept his feelings to himself though, he didn't want to upset Bo in anyway.

Atticus was right beside Erik thinking about where they were going. He had heard stories from his father about his Uncle Mumble going to this Adelie Land and that Uncle Ramon was from there and that was why Ramon was so short. He was also thinking about food, because he was terribly hungry. He had another thing on his mind though; Unknown to Bo or Erik, Atticus had noticed what happened at the party or at least most of it. He was mainly wondering why Bo was hanging around all of a sudden and, like Bo, he also noticed how down Erik has been as of late. I mean sure Erik was a bit shy, but he was this dejected from them. Throughout this little expedition, Erik had barely said anything to either of them, so it makes him wonder if there's something more going on here.

"Hey guys! What's wrong with you?!" Atticus loudly said. He was tired of this silence; He didn't understand what was wrong with them. If there was something wrong with him he wanted to know about it.

"What do you mean what's wrong with us!?" Bo said; She felt offended that Atticus came out of nowhere with a question like that. Bo wasn't the type of penguin to take that without a fight.

"I mean you guys haven't been talking at all!" Atticus said. He was kind of frustrated, because usually they would be very open with each other as a trio, but now he felt as if they were never friends, just strangers passing by each other.

"Well neither have you!" Bo shot back. It was a halfhearted comeback, though, because she knew what Atticus was referring to. She was feeling kind of down, since the party.

"I'm talking now ain't I!?" Atticus said.

"Guys please don't fight." Erik said in cool and calm voice. This caught them both off-guard and they immediately forgot about their little scuffle. Their minds were now on Erik; They were worried for him. Erik was usually not like this, he was usually a lot more playful and open with them, but now it is as if they were strangers to him. They were supposed to be the closest of friends. There was a tense silence between the trio.

**- In Emperor Land -**

Mumble, Gloria, and the other parents were not having any success in finding their chicks. They have already searched all of Emperor Land, but still nothing. Mumble was really beginning to worry about the chicks. A thought hit him; What if Erik had run away? If Erik was anything like Mumble, then he would have gone outside Emperor Land. Mumble initially dismissed the thought, because even if they did somehow go outside, they wouldn't know where to go. Then it hit him though, they could be following Ramon.

"Gloria...D-do you think they could've, you know...run off?" Mumble asked.

"Outside? By themselves?" Gloria questioned.

"Maybe they followed Ramon." Mumble said.

"Baby..." Gloria remorsefully said.

"I know, I know. But I better go check it out, o-okay. I-I won't be long." Mumble said frantically. He was stumbling over his own words and you could clearly see that he was in distress.

"Mumble." Gloria called. "Relax." Gloria said. She saw Mumble let out a deep, but stressed breath of air. "We will find them and when we do you'll find a way to make things right. You're good dad." Gloria said in an honest voice.

Despite Glloria's attempt to calm him down, Mumble just had a feeling that the kids were somewhere outside Emperor Land. "Yeah..." Mumble said. "I'll be back as soon as I can okay?" Mumble said, as he turned around and started heading out of Emperor Land.

Gloria knew she couldn't stop Mumble from going outside of Emperor Land, but she couldn't help but to worry about him. She knew that Mumble's father wasn't much of a parent to him and she knew that he wanted to be there for Erik, but Gloria also knew that Mumble sometimes does blow things out of proportion. Nevertheless, she turned around and continued looking for her son.

**- With the Trio -**

"I know! Let's sing a song!" Atticus said, breaking the silence. He saw Bo spark up at that idea, but Erik kind of stayed the same.

"Mmm. What song?" Bo asked.

"Here I'll start. Just sing along." Atticus answered.

**Atticus:**_ Now walk it out_  
**Bo:**_ Now walk it out_  
**Atticus:**_ Now walk it out_  
**Bo:**_ Now walk it out_

As soon as Atticus sang the first line, Bo caught the beat of the song and immediately followed along. Bo was following Atticus every step of the way; She was copying his words and choreography, then she performed right after him. Erik decided to stay out of it, since he was still unsure of his own abilities to sing, although it did look like a lot of fun. Despite Erik's previous feelings, this put a smile on his beak and brightened up his mood._  
_

**Atticus:**_ West side walk it out_  
**Bo:**_ West side walk it out_  
**Atticus:**_ South side walk it out_  
**Bo:**_ South side walk it out  
_**Atticus:**_ East side walk it out  
_**Bo:**_ East side walk t out  
_

Atticus and Bo continued to dance and sing, while Erik followed close behind them. Even though Erik wanted to join he couldn't find a space where he could jump in, so he just settled for watching._  
_

**All:**_ Hey!  
_

Suddenly, the trio of chicks saw their Uncle Ramon laying on the snow. It looked like he was planning to go swimming, since he was very close to the edge that separates the ice from the water. Since Erik knew the rhythm of the song, he knew he could join in here and so he did. When they all greeted Ramon, he got up and looked at them in surprise._  
_

"What's this? What's up? What's up? What's up?" Ramon said quickly.

"We're coming to Adelie Land." Bo said.

"Oh no you aren't. You're without your parents, this is kidnapping. Now go! Raa!." Ramon said, trying to scare the little chicks away.

"But we can't. We're fugitives." Bo said.

"You're what?" Ramon asked.

"Fugitives." Atticus said with a slow emphasis.

"What?" Ramon said.

"Fleeing Emperor land." Bo explained.

"No happy feets." Erik said in his squeaky little voice.

"Huh?" Ramon asked.

"No happy feets." Erik said with a more emphatic tone. For even more clarification, Erik moved his feet a bit so Ramon could see what he was referring to.

"We're rebels seeking thrills on adventure!." Bo said.

"And tasty snacks." Atticus said.

"Ohh thank you. This guy...Okay. I want a big fish, three little ones. Oh oh! And some of the those tiny crustaceans, you know the little ones that go ewzewewzew" Ramon kept up his impression of a krill for a while. The thought of food snapped Ramon out of his responsible mood and he no longer wondered how the chicks got here. "Now go!" Ramon said suddenly stopping his impression.

"But we can't swim, we're way too fluffy." Bo said.

"Wha-" Ramon asked.

"Fluffy don't float." Erik explained.

"But it's too high. I'm a little phobic."

"Oh dude the water's right there, like right there!" Atticus said, while pointing at the water.

"I don't care! It's too cold for a hot blood like me!" Ramon said. With that he turned away from the chicks to think of what to do.

"Atticus stop!" Bo yelled. She was trying to get Atticus to stop chewing on his flipper. "He's chewing on his flipper." Bo told Ramon. Unknown to Ramon, the three chicks were just pretending.

"Okay Okay! Here's what we're going to do. You count to three and push on two, but you don't tell me okay?" Ramon said.

The three chicks nodded in response. They all started counting slowly, while rocking him back and forth. Suddenly they pushed into the water when their count reached two.

"Hey what you do that for?" Ramon yelled. The only response he elicited was three cute giggles from the chicks, who were just looking at each other and laughing. "Baby penguins, cute but ruthless." Ramon said, as if we talking to someone other than himself. He then went underwater to search for fish.

While Ramon was out getting fish, the chicks stayed on the ice for obvious reasons. They really had nothing to do except find ways to amuse themselves and, again, Erik wasn't very interactive. He was just resting a against a small hill of ice. Bo decided to talk to Erik since he seemed to be distant lately. Erik may be a bit shy, but he was not the one to be depressed and unfriendly. She also had some questions that had been bothering her for a while.

"Hey Erik!" Bo greeted with a happy voice.

"Hi Bo." Erik replied with a distant voice. His eyes shifted to Bo, but went back to staring at the sky just as quickly.

"Do you mind if I lie down here too?" Bo asked. Now she was really worries about Erik. He would usually be excited to see her and it now he was barely paying attention to her.

"N-no." Erik stuttered. He was not expecting company and right now he would rather not have any, Erik was thinking about recent events, mainly the party. He kept replaying the whole event in his head over and over again. He wanted to stop thinking about it, but certain things would not stop bothering him. He had no idea what had come over him at the party, but when his dad encouraged him to sing his song, Erik couldn't resist. He remembers how he signaled Bo to join him and then she ran away from him. He remembered when shortly after Bo ran away, he saw her with Byron. This specific scene kept bothering him and each time he thought about,

"Hey Erik?" Bo asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?" Erik answered.

"Why did you suddenly decide to sing at the party? Bo asked sweetly. This question has been bothering her since the event. She has known Erik all her life, he was the first chick she met! She has never seen Erik act like that. It felt as if Erik was hiding something from her.

Erik remained silent. He knew Bo and Atticus were probably curious about what happened at the party. After all he almost never sang before the party, so for most it was very surprising. Erik was not in a mood to talk about it, so he positioned himself to face away from Bo.

"I mean..." Bo saw Erik turn away from her. This only confirmed her suspicions that there is something he isn't telling her. This upset Bo, since she considered Erik her closest friend. "I've just never seen you be so...brave!" Bo said.

Erik shifted in the snow and reverted to his original position. He was once again looking at the sky.

"Erik?" Bo called.

"I really don't know Bo."

"I was just watching everyone sing and dance, then I saw you and Byron sing your song, then my dad came looking for me and told me to sing my song." Erik explained with a sigh. Both chicks were silent.

"Did you sing that song for someone Erik?" Bo asked out of nowhere. This was one question that keeps coming up in her mind.

Erik remained silent. He didn't really now how to respond, seeing as he was just as confused. "I don't know." Erik answered honestly.

"Bo can I ask you a question?" Erik asked.

"Yeah sure." Bo said. She was still thinking about her question.

"Why did...Why did you run -"

"Yo guys Uncle Ramon is almost here. I can see him under water." Atticus said, cutting Erik off.

Erik and Bo got up and waddled, over to where Atticus was, as fast as they could. When they got there, the two chicks immediately spotted Ramon under the water. Then Ramon came flying out of the water at an alarming speed. He was swimming so fast, that he flew over the chicks. All three chicks turned around to see if Ramon was okay.

"Uncle Ramon?" Bo called.

"Kids take me home. Purrrr." Ramon said desperately. He had just encountered a leopard seal, so he was shaken with fear.

This chicks were on the ground laughing and rolling around in the snow. They knew they had to keep going though; it was just a matter of time before their parents noticed that they were gone.

* * *

**And there it is! Next chapter is already in the works, but I need to know one thing. Do you guys want me to put the lyrics of the Mighty Sven song or not? I you could put this in a review or in a message that would be great and other than that just criticize anything that you think might be wrong! **

**See ya next time! ;).  
**


	11. Home

**Finally a new chapter! Sorry for the lack of updates...again. But I hope you enjoy this chapter. Wow already chapter 11.**

* * *

**Home**

Mumble was now pretty far from Emperor Land. He was currently following some footprints in the snow. Needless to say, Mumble felt responsible for everything that has happened up to this point. He was the one, who encouraged Erik to sing and that led to this. Although his son's voice was great, Mumble knew Erik didn't see it that way; He knew Erik was shy around others and he also knew Erik didn't think he was good enough compared to his peers. After all, no one knew how Erik felt better than Mumble himself.

Mumble came up on the small shore, where Ramon and the trio were previously at. He saw some distinctive prints on the snow, so he stood on them one by one to figure out whose they were. "Bo, Erik, Atticus." Mumble told himself as he stood in the three closest to him. Mumble then saw some rather strange footprints next to them. "Ramon." Mumble concluded. He now knew that all of them were traveling together and that relaxed him a bit. Mumble looked around for more prints and immediately found a trail leading to Adelie Land. This confirmed Mumble's early suspicions and he set off to find them. Mumble couldn't help, but chuckle how much Erik reminded him of himself, which to him wasn't necessarily a good thing. Mumble was sure Erik was not happy with him at all and he didn't want to lose his own son. This in particular bothered him; He was always alone, when he was a chick. No one seemed to want to be with him, except Gloria but sometimes even she would turn away from him. He just didn't want to lose the family he struggled so much to find. On top of it all, Mumble wanted to give Erik something he never had as a chick: a supportive father. Mumble tried to shake these thoughts off his head and fell on his belly and sledded towards Adelie Land.

**- Back in Emperor Land -**

The worried parents had finally stopped their frantic search for their chicks, seeing that it was useless searching the same places over and over again. They were all very worried about the three little chicks, especially when Gloria told them that Mumble had gone out of Emperor Land to search for them.**  
**

"What?! Do you think they actually went outside by themselves?" Mrs. Viola asked in a bewildered tone.

"I don't know, but they're definitely not here." Gloria said.

"Well then I'm going to go find them too!" Seymour declared.

"Wait, let Mumble find them. If anyone knows where they would be it would be Mumble. He's been out there quite a bit." Gloria explained.

"But-"

"Gloria is right. As much as I would like to go out there and look for them I wouldn't know where to start, besides we need to teach and nurture the rest of the chicks." Mrs. Viola explained.

"Alright." Seymour said in a defeated tone.

"Don't worry Seymour. I know Mumble will find them and bring them back, after all he is the hero of Emperor Land." Gloria said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, I'm sure Mumble will bring them back." Seymour said with renewed confidence.

"That's the spirit!" Mrs. Viola said.

As the two adult penguins walked on, Gloria stayed behind and looked to the border of Emperor Land. Even though, she knew Mumble would bring them back, she couldn't help but worry about them. She hoped everything would be work out between Erik and Mumble. She knows Mumble wanted to be the best father to Erik and he was obviously trying very hard, but she also knew he would have to stop digging himself into the hole he has been digging into for his whole life. In many ways it wasn't his fault, but she hoped for that day to come. She felt a song come to her as she turned around to see Mrs. Viola and Seymour's still stressed expressions. Gloria immediately knew what to do. _(Hero - Mariah Carey)_

**Gloria:**_ There's a hero  
If you look inside your heart  
You don't have to be afraid  
Of what you are  
There's an answer  
If you reach into your soul  
And the sorrow that you know  
Will melt away_

Gloria began singing slowly and profoundly, letting her voice reach the ears of all penguins. Her melodious voice managed to lift the heads of even the most depressed of penguins. Penguins slowly responded to Gloria's voice, inching closer as she continued to sing. Soon enough, though, there was a crowd looking at Gloria.

**Gloria:**_ And then a hero comes along_  
_With the strength to carry on_  
_And you cast your fears aside_  
_And you know you can survive_  
_So when you feel like hope is gone_  
_Look inside you and be strong_  
_And you'll finally see the truth_  
_That a hero lies in you_

Everyone's heart began to fill with new hope and confidence for the future. All doubt now cast aside, the emperor nation now beamed with smiles and music. Noah, who was perched up at the top of the seemingly precarious mountain, watched as the nation grew closer once more. Seymour and Mrs. Viola now sported smiles on their beaks, despite the situation. Gloria's own fears were put at ease as she continued to sing her song.

**Gloria:**_ It's a long road_  
_When you face your world alone_  
_No one reaches out a hand_  
_For you to hold_  
_You can find love_  
_If you search within yourself_  
_And the emptiness you felt_  
_Will disappear_

_**Everyone:** And then a hero comes along_  
_With the strength to carry on_  
_And you cast your fears aside_  
_And you know you can survive_  
_So when you feel like hope is gone_  
_Look inside you and be strong_  
_And you'll finally see the truth_  
_That a hero lies in you_

Every penguin got into the rhythm of the song and started swaying back and forth in rhythmic motion. The need to sing and dance became too much for the penguin nation, so they all joined Gloria in this heartwarming moment. As they sang together, everyone's worries and insecurities vanished only to be replaced by pure happiness and hope.

Noah was standing on his usual perch, watching all this unfold. He couldn't help, but feel a sort of warmth in his heart that can only be denoted as love. The way everyone came together was truly a sign of how they could overcome any obstacle. Noah knew that this is what made this penguin nation so great._  
_

**- With Ramon and the Trio -**

The rest of the walk was seemed to go by very fast and before the chicks knew it, they found themselves in a new penguin territory. Bo, Erik, and Atticus were very excited to see what lies ahead in this new territory. They knew what to expect though, since Ramon lived in Emperor Land for a while. The landscape was huge and it was filled with penguins everywhere. All the penguins were chatting and cheering.

"Do you heart that? Its the mating call of the Adelie female." Ramon explained. "I'm about to be crushed to the ground by a thousand chicas." Ramon said as he giddily stepped into his home.

The chicks were waddling and giggling right behind him in their usual fashion. They were all excited to be in new territory, especially Bo.

"Okay ladies, the love bird is back!" Ramon shouted. No one reacted to his statement.

"Wow ignored by thousands!" Atticus said.

Erik and Bo attempted to suppress their laughter, but failed miserably at doing so. Ramon just standing there, with his flippers in a triumphant position, in pure shock of what just happened, or rather what didn't happen.

"I said the love bird is back!" Ramon shouted again. He started to make his way through the dense crowd. "Come on! I got so much love I'm going to explode!" Ramon shouted as he pushed his way through penguins.

"Ramon!" Four male voices shouted.

"Amigos!" Ramon shouted.

Lombardo, Raul, Rinaldo, and Nestor went up to their friend and tackled him to the ground. "Its like you never left, but you did." Nestor said. The five amigos shared a laugh.

"Ramon Triplets?!" Rinaldo asked with a shocked expression.

"No there's only three." Ramon said as he turned to look at them. "Kids Amigos. Amigos kids." Ramon introduced.

"Aww look at them!" Nestor said.

"They're so cute!" Raul said.

The three chicks liked the attention, but it didn't last long. The five amigos turned around to follow Ramon, who talking about wanting 'chicas'. The trio followed them until they stopped right in front of some penguins, who looked like they were guarding something. Then they saw a rather fat penguin with a rainbow sweater standing atop a small hill with grass under him.

"Same old Lovelace." Raul said.

"Only completely different." Ramon said.

"He looks like rainbow!" Bo said with her English accent.

"Yeah a rainbow with man chi chi's." Ramon remarked.

Erik wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying. Instead he was looking around at the atmosphere. Penguin don't just assemble in these kinds of numbers unless there was something like a party, but there was no music and no one was dancing. Everyone was chanting and cheering as if they were expecting something and Erik was trying to figure out what. Erik felt a flipper on his shoulder.

"Erik look!" Bo said as she pointed to what looked like a penguin on top of a very high cliff.

"Who is that?" Erik asked.

"I don't know, but I think he's gonna jump!" Bo answered.

Everyone was chanting 'Sven' over and over again. Erik carefully watched the penguin. Suddenly everything was silent and Erik watched the penguin fall off of the cliff. Erik was waiting to see what going to happen, but nothing seemed to happen. He lost track of the falling penguin as he/she fell below the icy platform they were standing on. Erik lost interest for a second, but then saw the penguin flying above him and everyone in the crowd.

"Woah..." Atticus said said.

"Look at him go!" Bo said.

"A penguin that can fly..." Erik said in a voice full of awe. Flying fantasies immediately made their way to Erik's thoughts.

"Wait what? Penguins can't fly?!" Atticus said in confused tone.

"Atticus we're looking at one." Bo said.

Everyone went ballistic and immediately started cheering and fawning. They were moving around so much that Ramon fell and got stepped on several times. The trio couldn't their eyes off of Sven as he flew up and about. Sven landed on top of the small green hill, surrounded by female penguin, who were singing for his entrance.

"Okay this Mr up is going down." Ramon said as he spit out snow and stood up.

"Tell your story brother! Testify!" Lovelace said.

"Oh but friends its such a long story." Sven said.

"Then tell the short one!" Ramon shouted.

Sven tilted his head in dramatic fashion. "It begins with the loss of my ho-" Sven was interrupted.

"Hey goldy locks! That beak looks way too big on you!" Ramon shouted again.

"It begin-" Sven started.

"The end." Ramon interrupted once again.

"Security!" Lovelace called.

Several of those penguins, who were posted up as guards, immediately grabbed Ramon and took him away. Erik. Bo, and Atticus didn't mind the situation too much since Ramon did stuff like this all the time. Erik was still amazed by the fact that Sven could fly, so he took this chance to get past the guards and walk on the grass. Atticus and Bo followed him.

"And they're still talking." Sven said in a disappointed voice.

"We're still here for you brother. Go ahead." Lovelace said.

"Okey Dokey." Sven said.

"It begins with the...No no no no no. I'm sorry the moment is gone, I've lost my mojo, maybe tomorrow." Sven said. He heard the crowd protest and whine behind him. "No I'm sorry! I'm not feeling it! Shows over!." Sven said a fierce voice.

"Please sir." Erik said.

"What?" Sven said in his native accent. He turned around and looked down to see Erik.

"D-Does your story have flying in it?" Erik asked in his cute voice.

"And where are you from little squirt?" Sven asked.

"We're from the Emperor hood." Atticus answered.

"And what your name is?" Sven asked.

"Erik." Erik answered.

"Earik. In Sven-land we have many brave warriors called Earik." Sven said.

"You do?" Erik asked in a hushed tone.

"Oh ya." Sven said.

"Oh ya." Erik copied.

Sven smiled and he breathed out a small bubble through his nose. "Everybody! Attention everybody! Your attention please. I dedicate my much applauded, heart warming saga to my brave friend Earik!"

**Everyone:**_ Ear-rik  
Ear-rik  
Ear-rik Ear-rik, Ear-rik  
Ear-rik  
Ear-rik  
Ear-rik_

**- With Mumble _-_**

Mumble had made it close enough, so he could hear the chanting. He was just above, where the Adelie penguins were gathered. When he listened to the words they were chanting, he wasn't sure what they were saying. Mumble quickly figured out that it was his son's name that was being chanted, it was just in a different type of pronunciation . He couldn't help, but wonder why they were all saying Erik's name, but if Mumble knew if Erik was anything like him then that would sufficient explanation. He went down on his belly and sled down to, where everyone else was. As he got closer, he could hear some singing. He immediately recognized the voice as Lovelace. He couldn't make out the other voices. Now he was right at the beginning of the crowd. Mumble started weaving between other penguins and started making his way to the front. He was calling Erik over and over again, but no answer. The fact that everyone was chanting and singing made it really hard for his voice to be heard. Mumble was much taller than the Adelie penguins around him, so he had a perfect view of everything. As he ran his way through the crowd, he spotted Erik, Atticus, and Bo on the grassy hill.**_  
_**

"Erik! Bo! Atticus!" Mumble's calls were in vain though.

Suddenly, Sven was flying a bit low, since Adelie penguins were not very tall, and barely missed Mumble. Mumble had no time though to wonder about this, he needed to find his son along with the rest of the chicks. He was hoping it would be as easy as finding them and going home. As he was waddling forward, Sven flew low again and Mumble had to move to the side a bit.

**- With the Trio -**

Erik, Atticus, and Bo were having a great time. Atticus and Bo were enjoying the party by dancing and just playing around. Erik wasn't participating much, rather he was watching Sven fly around and copying him on certain occasions. The song said it all for Erik; He was amazed at what Sven had gone through to get here. To Erik, Sven was a survivor, but most of all a hero. Erik seemed a lot happier than he was before, which in turn made Atticus and Bo happy. The music was different and the voices didn't compare to the ones in Emperor land, but it was still fun to dance to.

"Hey Erik?" Bo called.

"Yeah?" Erik answered without turning around.

"What are you looking at?" Bo asked.

"Sven. He's amazing." Erik answered in a voice filled with awe.

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty awesome that he can fly and all." Atticus said.

"I wish I could fly..." Erik said in hushed voice, as if he was talking to himself.

"Well do you wanna dance?" Bo asked.

Erik took his attention off of the flying bird and turned around. "D-dance?" Erik stuttered.

"Y-yeah. Come on Erik it'll be fun!" Bo said. She extended her flipper.

"Umm no its okay. I'm not that good anyways." Erik whispered the last part, it wasn't meant to be heard.

"What are you talking about Erik? You're a great dancer, I mean you may not be as good as Bo or me, but-" As soon as Atticus said that last part, he was cut off.

"Atticus!" Bo said as she slapped his shoulder.

Atticus winced. "But you're the best tap dancer!"

Erik was giggling at the whole situation. "Thanks guys." Erik said. This meant a lot to Erik, especially from Bo since she was recognized as one of the best choreographers in the class.

Bo spun once and grabbed Erik's flipper. "So is that a yes?" Bo asked with a confident tone.

"Uhh." Erik was having a hard time thinking under Bo's bright brown-eyed gaze.

Suddenly the ground started shaking and the ice under them started moving. The trio could see the surrounding hills move down and ice falling everywhere. Then it abruptly stopped. Everyone was immediately silenced. No one knew what had just happened.

"Is there no end to the power of Sven!" Lovelace declared.

Suddenly the crowd started fawning and screaming the flying bird's name. The music was gone. Erik started making his way down the green hill and back onto the white ice. Atticus and Bo quickly followed behind him.

"But if everyone love you, then who will love Ramon?!" Ramon shouted.

The crowd was dead silent.

"Somebody, anybody?" Ramon looked around with a look of desperation. "Body?" With that last word, Ramon put his head down in shame.

Sven flew down and landed on top of a penguin's head. "Oh Mr. lonely guy, you must learn to think like Sven." Sven explained.

"Why?" Ramon asked in an irritated tone.

"If you want it, you must will it. If you will ,it will be yours!" Sven shouted along with the majority of the penguins around him. "Sven think, all copyright reservants, copyright me." Sven added.

"You know, up close. You're still an idiot." Ramon said.

Sven chuckled a bit. "Try it, Sven think." Sven offered.

The crowd around him, including the amigos, started chanting "Sven think".

"All right! All right! I'll prove it doesn't work." Ramon said.

The trio payed close attention to the so called technique 'Sven think'. Erik was especially fascinated with this new concept.

**- With Mumble -**

Mumble noticed the crowd had stopped fawning over Sven. He took this chance and quickly moved through the crowd, muttering 'excuse me' and ' sorry' to very penguin he bumped into. He noticed there was an especially dense crowd around a certain area, so he decided to go there. As he got closer, Mumble heard voices. One of them was obviously Sven's voice, but he immediately recognized the other one as Ramon's. With a flurry of a apologies, Mumble pushed his way through the crowd. He finally got close enough to where he could see Ramon.

"Ramon!" Mumble shouted. "Where are the kids?" Mumble demanded.

"Security!" Ramon said in frantic tone.

**- With the Trio -**

Erik saw a bunch of penguins pile up on his father. While he was still disappointed with his father, Erik didn't want to see him get hurt. He could see his dad visibly struggling under the weight of so many penguins. He though about what to do to help him.

"Mighty Sven?" Erik called.

"Yes?" Sven responded.

"Could you tell them to get off my pa? They're hurting him." Erik pleaded.

"Oh he is your father?" Sven asked.

Erik nodded in response.

"Oh Sven! You're going to be my best friend and my best man all rolled into one!" Ramon said. "Hey Mumble. Carmen Wait!" Ramon said as he continued to pursue Carmen.

When the Amigos moved out of the way to follow Ramon, Erik's eyes met his father's. He then saw Mumble throw off all the penguins, that were previously on his back. Erik tried to make a dash for it, but he was too late.

"Erik!" Mumble called.

"Mumble my man, Erik is your boy?" Lovelace asked.

"Yes he is." Mumble answered quickly. He then turned his attention back to the chicks. "Kids! We're leaving" Mumble said.

"Uncle Mumble no fair!" Atticus protested. He stomped his feet on the ground.

"Come on all of you. Vamonos." Mumble said.

"But this place is so much fun." Bo said.

Mumble noticed Erik had not made any attempt to obey him. "Erik let's go." Mumble said.

Erik turned around with an angry expression. "I'm not going to back to Emperor Land." Erik said.

"Don't be silly." Mumble said in a soft voice.

Erik turned back around and took a few steps away from his father. "I'm staying here." Erik said. He was still mad at his father and he definitely was not going back to that place he used to call home. Plus he had Sven here.

"Erik, think about how worried your mother must be. Why don't you wanna go back?" Mumble asked.

Erik turned around and looked at his father with a deeply hurt expression. "You know why..." Erik said. "Because they all laughed at me! You promised no one would laugh at me." Erik shouted. "Maybe I don't belong there."

Mumble was shocked at his son's attitude towards him, but he couldn't blame him for it. After all, it was him who told Erik to sing his song. It was him that promised Erik no one would laugh at him. Mumble realized he was not being the father he wanted Erik to have. What hurt him the most was when Erik called himself a freak and said that he didn't belong in Emperor Land. That reminded Mumble way too much of his chick-hood, the exact same chick-hood he didn't want Erik to have. Mumble knows what it is to feel like an outcast.

"Erik...I know how you feel, but we have to go home." Mumble insisted. Mumble opted to talk to him later instead of in front of this crowd.

Erik turned around again, facing away from Mumble, with a sour expression. "No you don't...I knew you wouldn't understand. I don't have a home." Erik said as he stared angrily at the snow.

Bo and Atticus knew Erik felt completely inferior to everyone else, but they never knew it extended this far. Atticus was having a bit of trouble understanding Erik's position, but Bo understood. Bo had quite a few eccentricities herself, with her English accent and her knack for parkour. The difference was Bo had the confidence to back herself up, Erik didn't. The heart-song dilemma and the party incident only served to make him think he is some sort of outcast, when he's not.

Mumble felt completely responsible for what Erik was going through, but those last words might as well have been a stab in the heart. Although Erik didn't thinks so, Mumble knew exactly how he felt. Being humiliated in front of the whole nation is not something that's easy to deal with, especially for a shy young penguin like Erik. It crushed his heart to know that Erik didn't feel like he belonged in Emperor Land. Mumble was about to say something else until Sven flapped his wings and flew towards Erik.

"Erik, its best to do what your father saying." Sven said.

"But I don't belong there." Erik explained.

"Oh fluffy one, I want to tell to you a little secret." Sven said. He put a flipper on Erik's shoulder to orient Erik towards him. "When you are a little different, the world laugh at you ya?" Sven asked.

"Yeah." Erik answered.

"Pointing flippers." Sven added. "Well we have a saying back in Sven land." Sven said. Sven proceeded to say something in his home language, which was incomprehensible to Erik. "Believe in yourself Earik, because Sven believe in you." Sven explained.

"Mighty Sven, will I ever fly?" Erik asked with a voice full of hope.

"Erik-"

"Mumble, the boy seeks a higher truth." Lovelace said.

"If want it, you must will it. If you will it, it will be yours." Sven said. "Now go."

Erik had the happiest smile on his beak at the moment. It felt good knowing, that someone believed in you. Maybe this is where he belonged after all. Erik couldn't contain his excitement. He started walking towards his father, but stopped. He quickly turned back and hugged Sven. The crowd cheering them on as this was happening. Erik then waddled past his father and towards his friends with a glint of pure joy in his eyes.

Mumble looked at the scene with a rather disappointed expression. He felt as if he should be the one comforting his son, that was a the role he thought a father should play in this case. Mumble saw that his son was happy and this thought comforted him some, but he didn't like that Sven had put the thought of flying into Erik's mind. Mumble remembered, he would do anything to sing, in fact he resorted to doing that fake routine with the Amigos. He knew Erik just wanted to feel accepted, just like he did. He couldn't wait to be home again.

Erik, Bo, and Atticus started waddling out of Adelie Land with Mumble. The crowd behind them was still clapping and cheering on Sven. Erik couldn't take his mind off of Sven. In Erik's mind, Sven was amazing and he wanted nothing less than to be like him. Bo was kind of disappointed she didn't get that dance she wanted, but she was glad Erik now wore a smile on his beak. Bo was determined to show Erik just how amazing he really was. Atticus didn't really know what to think, he did notice, however, that Erik has been down on himself lately. Atticus was also willing to help his friend out, because he knew Erik was a good penguin but he also knew Erik didn't believe that. Atticus and Bo we're going to get Erik out of his shell no matter what.

* * *

**And yes I didn't put in the song. I began to put it in, when I started writing the chapter but saw that it actually doesn't work. The chapter didn't flow with it. Keep in mind they still sing the song! It's just not shown.**


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